Five seafarers who were taken hostage by pirates off Nigeria have been freed, Polish officials said Tuesday.
The Polish crewmen had been abducted from the 9,597-dwt multipurpose shipSzafir (built 1992) on 27 November, as TradeWinds has reported.
“They are safe and sound, and will soon return home,” Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Artur Dmochowski said.
The men are under the protection of Polish consular services in Nigeria.
Protracted negotiations
Authorities and Polish shipowner Euroafrica Shipping Lines “conducted difficult and protracted negotiations with the kidnappers”, Dmochowski said.
The 11 other crewmen on the Szafir, who locked themselves in an engineroom during the pirate attack, have already returned to Poland.
All affected seafarers will receive support from the government including psychological services, Dmochowski said.
As TradeWinds has reported, the Szafir was en route from Belgium to Nigeria with a cargo of metal and other items when it came under attack.
Two speedboats approached
The International Maritime Bureau says the ship was 130 kilometres off Port Harcourt when two speedboats approached and boarded the vessel while it was under way.
The ship’s captain and three officers were among those abducted and taken ashore.
The Cyprus-flagged Szafir is classed by the Polish Register of Shipping and has insurance from West of England.
