Nine Georgian sailors who were kidnapped by pirates from a ship flying the Panamese flag in Nigeria have been released and will return to their homeland.
Tamar Ioseliani, head of the Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia, said that a special flight will be carried out to bring the sailors back home.
Ioseliani also mentioned that the release of the abducted sailors in 21 days is an unprecedented fact. It usually takes 30-40 days for pirates to release kidnapped sailors.
Four other Georgian sailors, who managed to escape from the pirates, have already returned to Georgia and have been placed under quarantine.
Intensive work is underway to obtain permits and organize the transportation of our sailors from Nigeria to Georgia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Maritime Transport Agency are involved in the process. Everything will be done in order to bring our sailors back home very soon
stated Ioseliani.
The pirates kidnapped the sailors from a Panama-flagged tanker in the waters of Nigeria.
The Georgian Maritime Transport Agency said the pirates kidnapped a total of ten sailors including Georgian citizens on April 30.
