Pirates Kidnap 15 Sailors From Turkish Container Ship

Pirates have kidnapped 15 sailors from a Turkish container ship in the Gulf of Guinea, near the coast of Nigeria.

The 15 kidnapped sailors are all Turkish nationals, Reuters reported. One of the ship’s sailors was killed in the Saturday attack on the Liberian-flagged ship Mozart. The dead soldier’s nationality is Azerbaijani, according to the report. Three crew members remain on board. The ship was traveling from Lagos to Cape Town at the time of the attack. The mostly disabled ship on Sunday was heading toward Port-Gentil, Gabon.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued orders for a rescue of the kidnapped members of the ship’s crew. He spoke twice by phone with the most senior officer remaining on the ship, The Associated Press reported. The officer said that the pirates beat the ship’s crew. He said his leg was injured and that another crew member remaining on the ship had shrapnel wounds.