Pirates Release Four Crew Kidnapped From Tanker Off Nigeria

Four crew members kidnapped from a chemical tanker earlier this month off the coast of Nigeria have been released in good health, the International Maritime Bureau and Hellenic Coast Guard have confirmed.
The four hostages, three from Greece and one from the Philippines, were released in good health on March 28.
The tanker has only been described as Panamanian-flagged and with Greek interests.
The unidentified tanker was attacked by a group of ten armed pirates while underway approximately 32 nautical miles southwest of Bonny Island, Nigeria on March 5, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre confirmed earlier this month.
The ship had 22 crew members and one passenger on board when the armed group boarded the tanker.
During the attack, the pirates chased and fired upon the tanker, eventually boarding the vessel using a grappling hook and ladder. The alarm was raised and all non-essential crew members retreated to the ship’s citadel. The pirates left the tanker after about an hour with the four kidnapped crew members.
Once the pirates abandoned the vessel, the remaining crew members managed to sail the tanker to a safe port.
The terms of the crew’s release have not been disclosed, but it is highly likely that the ship owner had to pay ransom to free his crew.
Kidnappings in Nigerian waters and most recently off Philippines have become ever more frequent as pirates resort to taking hostages for ransom as a funding method.