Pirates release eight tanker crew abducted off Cameroon

An official of the Greek government has confirmed that eight crewmen whom pirates had abducted from a tanker off Cameroon just before the new year have been safely released.

The captain and seven other sailors from the Greek-flagged chemical/oil tanker Happy Lady, which is owned by Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, were kidnapped by an unidentified group of armed men while the vessel was at anchor two nautical miles off Cameroon’s Port of Limboh on December 31, 2019. A total of 20 other crewmembers, including one who had suffered injuries in the pirate attack, had remained aboard the tanker following the raid.

Greek Merchant Marine Minister Giannis Plakiotakis said that the kidnapped sailors were released by the perpetrators following the “the successful end of negotiations.”