Three seamen, kidnapped from the Togo-flagged bunkering vessel, Stelios K ,which was boarded last week by a group of pirates, while en route to Lagos in Nigeria, have been rescued, according to Dryad Global, a UK based security organization
It was gathered that after the attack, the local authorities managed to get in contact with the hijackers and negotiated the release of the vessel and the crew. Though details of the negotiations remain undisclosed.
According to the latest update , the pirates later escaped and left the vessel at around 180/75 nautical miles off Lagos Nigeria.
The ship owner had lost contact with the vessel on November 17, resulting in the authorities seeking to establish the vessel’s location and making contact with the crew.
However , the abduction made it the 23rd kidnapping incident in the Gulf of Guinea in 2020, with a total of 118 persons kidnapped.
“The Gulf of Guinea HRA was raised to a critical risk rating following a sharp increase in incidents in the past week, including 2 successful kidnappings within 3 days. Vessels are advised to exercise heightened caution in this region,” Dryad Global informed.
