Off the coast of Benin, six Russians captured by pirates
According to the Rosmorrechflot, six Russian citizens were captured by sea pirates. They were captured during the attack on the container ship MSC Mandy. The incident occurred in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Benin.
On January 2, several armed pirates broke on board a container ship that was flying the Panama flag and abducted six crew members. The remaining people on board the ship were not injured. According to the Russian Embassy in Benin, all captured are citizens of Russia.
- stated on the embassy's blog on Facebook.
At the moment, conflicting data are being received on the number of crew and on the citizenship of its members. The Rosmorrechflot Rescue Coordination Center claims that there were 24 people aboard the MSC Mandy, including 23 Russians and one Ukrainian. According to the Russian diplomatic mission in Benin, there were 26 people on board. There was also information that among them were Georgian citizens, however, the country's authorities denied this. Currently, the consular departments in Benin and Nigeria are engaged in the release of hostages.
The editor-in-chief of the Maritime Bulletin, Mikhail Voitenko, who is an expert on the law of the sea, expressed the opinion that it would take two to three weeks to resolve this issue. According to him, such incidents for this region are not uncommon, since this is the "business" of Nigerian pirates. About once every six months in the Gulf of Guinea they carry out similar attacks.
According to the expert, this could have been avoided if the crews of the ships were allowed to have armed guards. However, some countries in West Africa, the Republic of South Africa and India prohibit this.
- he told reporters RIA News.
On January 2, several armed pirates broke on board a container ship that was flying the Panama flag and abducted six crew members. The remaining people on board the ship were not injured. According to the Russian Embassy in Benin, all captured are citizens of Russia.
The attackers took six people hostage, including the captain of the ship, and fled
- stated on the embassy's blog on Facebook.
At the moment, conflicting data are being received on the number of crew and on the citizenship of its members. The Rosmorrechflot Rescue Coordination Center claims that there were 24 people aboard the MSC Mandy, including 23 Russians and one Ukrainian. According to the Russian diplomatic mission in Benin, there were 26 people on board. There was also information that among them were Georgian citizens, however, the country's authorities denied this. Currently, the consular departments in Benin and Nigeria are engaged in the release of hostages.
The editor-in-chief of the Maritime Bulletin, Mikhail Voitenko, who is an expert on the law of the sea, expressed the opinion that it would take two to three weeks to resolve this issue. According to him, such incidents for this region are not uncommon, since this is the "business" of Nigerian pirates. About once every six months in the Gulf of Guinea they carry out similar attacks.
According to the expert, this could have been avoided if the crews of the ships were allowed to have armed guards. However, some countries in West Africa, the Republic of South Africa and India prohibit this.
It is necessary at the UN level to adopt a convention allowing ships to keep private armed guards in dangerous navigation areas under certain conditions
- he told reporters RIA News.
- severpost.ru
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