A media report on a Greek website, is saying that five Greek sailors have been abducted after their ship was attacked by pirates in Nigeria.
The pirates took hostage of the captain and two sailors from the five Greeks who belong to the crew of the supply tanker Stelios K, which is sailing under the Togolese flag, according to the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy.
According to the report by greekcitytimes.com, two other crew members were able to pilot the ship to a safe port in Lagos.
Contacts with the pirates are underway to secure the release of the three abducted sailors, according to the ministry.
At this stage, the information that the Greek authorities have is that all five sailors are in good health.
The Panhellenic Union of Merchant Marine Sailors complained in a statement that became public that the relatives of the abductees have not yet been able to contact their loved ones.
They appealed that families should be immediately informed about the course of the negotiations with the pirates.
“The anxiety of the seafarers’ relatives has reached its peak”, the union emphasized.
In its announcement, the union emphasized that “the armed group that kidnapped the Greek seafarers expects the exchange of the abductees on the basis of an economic agreement (ransom) for their release.”
However, the report was silent on when and where exactly the operation was carried out by the waters around Nigeria have become very notorious for safe shipping due to the activities of pirates in recent years.
Some reports even suggest that the West African nation has taken over from the Horn of Africa (particularly Somalia) in terms of the activities of pirates.
