After keeping them in captivity for close to one month, Nigerian pirates from the Niger Delta have released four crewmen who were kidnapped earlier on a Russian reefer off Port Harcourt in Rivers state.
Owners of the ship; MV Solarte confirmed the released and payment of ransom money to obtain the release of the seafarers.
The two Lithuanian and two Ukrainian crew members have left the shores of Nigeria and are on their way to their countries.
Solarte was attacked by pirates on October 21, at about 100 nautical miles off Port Harcourt. The pirates boarded the ship, stole cash, broke all communication and navigational equipment and kidnapped four of the 19 crew on board.
The Comoros-flagged refrigerated cargo ship was en route from Cotonou in Benin Republic to Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
The release of the kidnap victims has been confirmed by the Lithuanian foreign ministry.
Deputy Chancellor of the Lithuanian Government; Rimantas Vaitkus confirmed that the Lithuanian seafarers who were taken hostage from the ship Solarte off the coast of Nigeria have been freed.
The owner of the ship informed the deputy chancellor that all of the freed hostages are being checked at the local hospital and are healthy.
"They are supervised by doctors. We will return them home once it is possible. The owner of the ship will take care of their journey," Vaitkus said.
He however did not go into detail under what circumstances the seafarers where released and if a ransom was paid, but security and diplomatic sourced hinted of a money ransom being paid by the ship owners to the pirates.
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