Sailors kidnapped off Nigeria return to Turkey, describe death threats

Fifteen Turkish sailors kidnapped by pirates last month in the Gulf of Guinea arrived back in Turkey on Sunday and the ship’s captain described how they faced death threats and were held in a forest during their three-week ordeal.

The sailors hugged relatives as they arrived before dawn at Istanbul Airport, where they were greeted by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and other officials, two days after news of their release in Nigeria emerged.

“We were in a forest. There were tough conditions. There were constantly armed men at our side,” Mustafa Kaya, captain of the ship “Mozart” from which the crew were abducted, was cited as saying by the Demiroren news agency.

The Liberian-flagged container ship was headed to Cape Town from Lagos when it was attacked on Jan. 23, 160 km (100 miles) off Sao Tome island, maritime reports showed. One Azeri sailor was killed in what the crew described as a sophisticated and well-orchestrated attack.

“We didn’t experience physical violence but they exerted psychological pressure during the negotiations. They said ‘we will kill you if your company does not do what we want’,” Kaya said.

Kaya said that at the time of their abduction the crew had locked themselves in a secure room but that the pirates had forced their way in after a five-hour struggle.

“They were constantly opening fire, firing randomly inside. At that time one of our colleagues died. He was shot in the belly. We are very sad,” he said.

The crew was finally taken by boat and released at a safe place specified by the company. Their release came two weeks after the attackers made contact to discuss a ransom.

After their release, Levent Karsan from Istanbul-based Boden Shipping had said that the sailors were all in good health and that it was not a political kidnapping, but solely aimed at getting a ransom, with talks handled by a team based in Hamburg.