Romanian sailor kidnapped by pirates off Nigerian coasts is marine chief engineer from Constanta

One of the 12 sailors kidnapped Saturday morning on board of the Swiss Glarus off the coast of Nigeria is the marine chief engineer of the ship, a 60-year-old man from Constanta, according to the leader of the Free Trade Union of Romania's Navigators, Adrian Mihalcioiu.

According to the quoted source, the ship loaded with cereals was sailing in Nigerian territorial waters, 45 miles south-southwest of Bonny Island heading for the port of Harcourt for unloading.

"We have been informed that no contact with the pirates has yet been established, but as a rule, they are contacted by the ship owner within 48 to 72 hours after kidnapping, and Massoel Shipping, the owner of the ship, has begun the crisis procedure to get the hostages released as soon as possible. A negotiating team has already been formed and is expected to resolve this situation quickly and efficiently. At the same time, the Nigerian Maritime Police are investigating the case with the highest priority and we are in direct contact with our colleagues from the Swiss Nautilius trade union, who are closely following the case," Mihalcioiu told AGERPRES on Tuesday.

According to the Nigerian maritime authorities, the pirate gang climbed the Glarus by means of long stairs and cut barbed wire on the deck to access the ship and finally the bridge.

Having destroyed much of the ship's communications equipment, the criminal gang departed taking 12 of the 19 crew members hostage that are from Philippines, Slovenia, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia and Bosnia.

"According to the ITF [the International Transport Workers' Federation] - which takes over data published by the International Maritime Bureau of the International Chamber of Commerce (IMB), pirates' attacks have increased in frequency in Nigerian waters and in Guinea Bay, where they attacked the Glarus; that was the 29th piracy incident this year, which accounts for more than 40 percent of all global piracy incidents. Many countries do not yet allow the presence of armed guards for crew protection aboard of ships sailing under national flags, and Nigeria does not allow the possession or use of weapons aboard of any ships in the Nigerian territorial waters," said Mihalcioiu. AGERPRES (RO -author: Dan Mihaescu, editor: Diana Dumitru; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)

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