Pirates Seize 11 Seafarers in Single Attack

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Pirates have taken 11 crew members hostage from a containership in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Nigeria, according to Reuters and Polish state media.

The pirates attacked the MV Pomerania Sky, bound for the Nigerian port of Onne, early on October 27.

Midocean, the line that own that owns the MV Pomerania Sky, confirmed the attack and added that nine others remained on board and were unharmed.

Eight of the hostages are Polish but the nationality of the other three remains unknown. In a statement, Midocean said: “Our priority is securing the earliest release of the 11 crew who have been taken and we are working closely with our partners and the local authorities to achieve that.

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“The families of those crew members taken are being kept informed of the situation,” said the company. It added the vessel had proceeded to safe waters.

According to Reuters, the Nigerian navy is investigating, having initiated a search and rescue operation as soon as the attack was reported.

 The Gulf of Guinea is the most dangerous area in the world for merchant ships. In September 2018, pirates attacked the MV Glarus in the Niger Delta, kidnapping 12 crew members.

A report EOS Risk, a world-leading professional security services company, stated that 35 seafarers were kidnapped from vessels in the area in the first half of 2018.   

Read Reuters' original article here

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