The six crew members, who were kidnapped by pirates from the container ship ‘Demeter’, off the coast of Nigeria, were released after over three weeks of captivity.
The six crew men, including the captain, were abducted from the Liberian-flagged vessel, while underway, 50 nautical miles south-west of Bonny, Nigeria, on 21 October. The remaining 12 crew had then headed the ship to safe anchorage.
According to a spokesman from the German shipping company Peter Doehle Schiffahrts-KG, as quoted by the Associated Press, the sailors are all in good health and returned to their families.
Further details regarding the release are yet to be reported.
In its latest report regarding piracy and armed robbery against ships, the International Maritime Bureau reported a total of 121 incidents for the first nine months of 2017, with 80 crew taken hostage, 49 kidnapped, 3 injured and 2 killed. Namely, the report highlighted that Nigeria remains risky area as 39 of the 49 crewmembers kidnapped globally occurred off Nigerian waters in seven separate incidents.