Pirates who killed sailor and kidnapped 15 yet to make contact, say Turkey

Armed pirates hijacked ship in Gulf of Guinea

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. AP

Armed pirates who stormed a Turkish cargo ship off the West African coast, kidnapping 15 sailors and killing one of them, have not made any contact with authorities, Turkey's foreign minister said on Monday.

The Liberian-flagged MV Mozart was sailing from Nigeria's Lagos to Cape Town in South Africa when it was attacked on Saturday morning, 185 kilometres north-west of the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe.

"We have not yet received word from the pirates," foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara on Monday.

Turkey was in contact with officials in Gabon, where he said the Liberian-flagged container ship Mozart had docked with its remaining crew, and with authorities in neighbouring countries.

After kidnapping most of the crew, the pirates left the ship in the Gulf of Guinea with three sailors aboard, state-run Anadolu news agency said. Reports said the pirates disabled most of the ship, leaving only the navigation system for the remaining crew to find their way to Gabon’s Port-Gentil.

Echoing comments by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's transport minister said the government was working to ensure the swift release of the sailors.

"We will rescue our citizens from the hands of these bandits and reunite them with their families as soon as possible," Adil Karaismailoglu said.

Turkey’s Maritime Directorate said the crew initially locked themselves in a safe area but the pirates forced entry after six hours.

During the struggle, one crew member was killed. The directorate identified him as engineer Farman Ismayilov of Azerbaijan, the only non-Turkish crew member.

The Gulf of Guinea, off the coasts of Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon, is the most dangerous sea in the world for piracy, the International Maritime Bureau says.

Maritime security consultancy Dryad Global described the attack as “an exceptional incident for both its severity and distance from shore".

Last year, boardings in the waters off west Africa rose to 18 from 13 in 2019, the London company said.

Pirates in the area kidnapped 130 sailors in 22 incidents last year, accounting for all but five of those seized worldwide, the IMB reported.

Mr Cavusoglu said he had spoken to the senior officer remaining on the Mozart, Furkan Yaren, and that the morale and condition of the sailors aboard was good.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has twice spoken to Mr Yaren, his office said in a tweet.

It said Mr Erdogan issued orders for the recovery of the kidnapped crew.

Among the captives is the ship’s captain, Mustafa Kaya, 41.

His brother Seyit, of Istanbul, said the sailors’ families had been called by Mr Erdogan.

“We hope we see them free, unharmed soon,” Seyit Kaya said. “Everybody is trying. We pray for our brothers.”

In July 2019, 10 Turkish seamen were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria. They were released less than a month later.