After one month of captivity, pirates last weekend released the 2 crew members of Swiss-flagged cargo ship MV Glarus.
Although details of the release were shrouded in secrecy, it was confirmed that the hostages were released last Friday and have been transferred to Switzerland. The terms of their release were not disclosed.
The release of the mariners followed a month-long negotiation between the shipping company Massoel Shipping and the kidnappers.
It was however learnt that, upon arrival in Switzerland, the released seafarers were questioned before departing to their home countries.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that, last week, prosecutors opened an investigation into the case of the ill-fated registered ship.
The investigators had said last week that, although, none of the hostages are of Swiss nationality, the fact that MV Glarus is registered with a Swiss company (Massoel Shipping in Geneva) warranted the opening of a Swiss enquiry.
Initials reports had confirmed that negotiations were ongoing in Nigeria as to their release. The attackers, who are suspected to be Niger Delta militants, are demanding ransoms.
The ship was attacked on September 22, while on route from Lagos to Port Harcourt with a cargo of cereal, about 45 nautical miles southwest of Bonny Island.
The ship was loaded with a cargo of bulk wheat when it was boarded by a gang of pirates, who took 12 out of 19 crew members hostage. The remaining seven mariners were allowed to stay on the ship. The sailors manning the ship at the time were from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Philippines, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, crew members have been taken hostage from a containership off the coast of Nigeria.
The pirates attacked the MV Pomerania Sky, bound for the Nigerian port of Onne, early on October 27.
Midocean, the line 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.
“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.
It was confirmed that security agencies have initiated a search and rescue operation as soon as the attack was reported.
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