February 12th local time, Borealis Maritime and Boden Shipping issued a statement saying that 15 Turkish crews kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea on January 23 were released.
All the crew members have contacted their families so far, and they will return to Turkey as soon as possible.
Levent Karshan, the relevant head of the Boden Shipping Company, which belongs to the cargo ship Mozart, said in an interview with Turkish TRT TV that the kidnapping was not for political purposes, but was intended solely to obtain ransom.
But he did not disclose the details of the crew’s rescue, nor did he mention whether the ransom had been paid.
Turkish Foreign Minister Chavushoğlu also revealed to the Turkish Anadolu News Agency that the rescued crew is currently in good health and will return to Turkey from Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, on Turkish Airlines plane.
On January 23rd local time, the Liberian-flagged cargo ship Mozart was attacked by pirates on its way from Lagos, Nigeria, to Cape Town, South Africa.
A total of 19 crew members on board the ship, 15 of whom were kidnapped, 1 Azerbaijani crew member was killed, and 3 crew members escaped.
Turkish Foreign Minister Chavush Oğlu has revealed that all but one of the 19 crew members are Turks.
