Pirates kidnapped five South Koreans and a Ghanaian after boarding their fishing vessel off Benin , Seoul’ s foreign ministry and the International Maritime Bureau said Thursday .
The Ghanaian - flagged Panofi Frontier with 30 crew onboard was attacked on Wednesday about 60 nautical miles south of the Beninese capital Cotonou , they both said .
Seoul’ s foreign ministry said five of its nationals were seized along with a Ghanaian , and that the vessel had 24 more crew members on board .
“ Currently , the identity and the whereabouts of the kidnappers have not been identified, ” it said in a statement , adding it was working with the relevant organisations and countries to secure the Koreans’ release .
The International Maritime Bureau confirmed the attack by “ armed pirates” and issued a warning to seafarers .
“ All vessels are advised to maintain a vigilant anti - piracy watch and measures including at anchorages , ” it said in an alert .
Noel Choong, head of the IMB ’ s Kuala Lumpur- based piracy reporting centre told AFP it appeared the pirates had headed “ into Nigerian waters with the kidnapped crew ” .
The remaining sailors and the vessel were safe , he added .
No comments:
Post a Comment