According to judicial and maritime sources, the Russian captain of an American bulk carrier and two Georgian officers were kidnapped by pirates near a Gabonese port. Attacks on merchant ships and kidnappings of their crews for ransom are relatively common.
The ship in question is called the “Grebe Bulker” and belongs to the American shipping company Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc.
At the time the bulk carrier was attacked by the pirates, it was anchored less than 8 km off the Gabonese commercial port of Owendo.
An official of the international maritime authorities said the Russian captain and his second and third officers were abducted by unknown persons, adding that the police have opened an investigation into the matter.
The ship was rescued by a Gabonese army patrol boat which found 17 crew members safe and sound.
The attack was one of the closest to the coast and a major Gabonese city ever committed by pirates, according to sources.
The Gulf of Guinea, which stretches in Africa from the shores of Liberia to those of Angola, is one of the world’s major maritime piracy blackspots.