Pirates Release Cotton Tanker With Entire Indian Crew

New Delhi, July 23, IRNA - Pirates, who took over the Turkish tanker M V Cotton, have left the vessel a week after it was hijacked off the coast of Gabon in Africa with the entire Indian crew comprising 24 sailors safe, officials said Monday. M V Cotton, which had been hijacked off the coast of Gabon in Africa, has been released after the pirates disembarked. All the sailors are safe, pti reported quoting a senior official from the Director General of Shipping (DGS) in Mumbai. When asked if any ransom was paid to secure the release, the DGS official said he did not have any more information. A senior official from V-Ships, which was the crew management firm hired by the Turkish ship operator Genel Denizcilik Nakliyati AS Geden Line, also confirmed the development. When asked if the sailors will return to the country, the official declined to comment saying that the sailors continue to be on the vessel. The partially loaded, 184-metre long M V Cotton with a gross tonnage of 23,248 tons, was boarded by suspected pirates while awaiting berthing at Gabons Gentil Port on July 15. In a statement, the shipping company had called the hijack as an unusual incident as the region does not witness any such activity normally. For at least three days, contact could not be established between the vessel or the pirates, according to the vessel operator. According to an industry expert, if not cash, pirates may have taken some of the cargo on the vessel as gangs operating in the western coast of Africa are known to be interested in cargo material. Meanwhile, in a statement issued from Istanbul, vessel operator Geden Lines said the pirates left the ship on Monday, adding that the vessel was on its way to a secure port. Geden Lines has expressed gratitude to the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Malta Flag authorities for their help during the week-long crisis./end