The Chronicle can confirm that the six sailors aboard the Ghanaian flagged fishing vessel, FV Panofi Frontier, who were taken into captivity by pirates a month ago, have been released and are currently in Nigeria awaiting directives prior to their evacuation
The sailors, five Koreans and a Ghanaian, were kidnapped on June 24, 2020, when their fishing vessel came under a pirates attack whilst fishing in Beninois waters, 80 nautical miles south of Lagos.
The intercepted information indicates that the release took place over the weekend, and that the sailors were in the comfort zones of the Korean Embassy and the Ghana High Commission respectively in Nigeria.
It is, however, not clear how their release was secured – whether it was as a result of a military operation, which in this case could have happened on land or at sea. Whether there was negotiation with the payment of a ransom or voluntary release by the pirates, the latter being the unthinkable.
The Chronicle’s intelligence sources intimated that when the incident occurred, apart from the Ghanaian security agencies and their counterparts in the sub-region sharing intelligence, including the world navies, there was tremendous collaboration from the government of Korea through her embassies in Ghana and Nigeria, in an effort to locate the captives.
It would be recalled that on that fateful day of the attack, a crew member on-board FV panofi frontier reportedly spotted at a distance a craft in the form of a speed boat trailing, but after reporting to the bridge, a second opinion ruled out an imminent threat.
About two hours later, the now visible gunmen fired a number of warning shots before getting on board with the help of a ladder attached to the rear (aft).
After subjecting the Master of the vessel to various forms of torture, the pirates took the Korean at gunpoint into a getaway skiff. They enquired and got to know that a Ghanaian cook was responsible for preparing food for the Asians, so he was also added to the captives and sped towards the east.
In addition, two things, Nigerian Pidgin English and Yoruba spoken by the pirates were enough clues to suggest where they came from.
The Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) positioned on shore in Tema that locates and monitors all the country’s registered fishing vessels around the globe, in the event of pirates attack, drug/human trafficking and illegal trans-shipment, courtesy satellite transmission, have not been functioning for about eight months now.
This is because new transponders that would cost Euro 17,000.00 Euros have not been procured by the Fisheries Commission, leaving the safety and security of our fishing vessels and crew unknown, even though the commission assured the country on several occasions to make the VMS workable.
The post Ghanaian, Korean crew released by Nigerian captives appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS