Turkey vows safe return of sailors following deadly pirate attack on ship

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Sunday vowed for the safe return of sailors on board a ship attacked by pirates off the coast of Nigeria, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported.

One sailor, an Azeri engineer, was killed and 15 Turkish nationals were kidnapped on Saturday when pirates attacked a Turkish container ship in the Gulf of Guinea.

The Liberian-flagged vessel, the Mozart, was headed to Cape Town from Lagos when it was attacked 160 kilometres (100 miles) off Sao Tome island.

“These thugs, pirates who kidnapped our citizens have not yet contacted us,” Çavuşoğlu said on Sunday.

“There have been attacks on our ships and other countries’ ships before. They call after a certain time and make their demands. But all kinds of preparation and work have been done,” he added

“The captain is in good spirits, so is the crew,’’ Çavuşoğlu told NTV. “We are holding coordinated talks to rescue (our) citizens.’’

Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency on Sunday reported that thecargo ship was anchored off neighbouring Gabon, and the body of a slain Azerbaijani sailor is due to be brought to shore, citing Turkish officials.