Turkey launches diplomatic effort for kidnapped crew members

Turkey has launched diplomatic efforts to find crew members that were kidnapped following a pirate attack on a Turkish cargo ship off Nigeria, according to diplomatic sources.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu talked to Furkan Yaren, the fourth captain of the ship, on the telephone and received information about the incident and the situation on the ship.

Çavuşoğlu also spoke to Osman Levent Karsan, the operator of the company that owns the ship and conveyed his condolences, emphasizing that necessary actions will be taken to rescue the crew as soon as possible and return them safely.

Çavuşoğlu also had a telephone call with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, and expressed his condolences for the crew member who was killed in the attack.

Turkish embassies in surrounding countries, including Nigeria, have been mobilized for the crew, diplomatic sources added.

The Mozart was attacked by pirates early Saturday while one crew member was killed and 15 others kidnapped from the ship that had a crew of 19.

Fifteen crew members moving from Lagos, Nigeria to Cape Town, South Africa were kidnapped, while three remained with the pirates, David Johnson, the head of the UK-based EOS Risk Group had said in the statement.

Mozart, an Istanbul-based Boden company, was attacked in the Gulf of Guinea, 160 kilometers (100 miles) off Sao Tome, he added.

A tape recording had been shared on Twitter and believed to be belonging to the captain of the ship says: "I don't know where I'm going. The pirates dismantled all cables, nothing is working. Only the navigator works. They gave me a route, I'm moving accordingly."