Turkey's ambassador to Gabon has reportedly said that the pirates have released the oil tanker hijacked last week off the West African country's coast and the 24-member Indian crew is unharmed.
According to News24, Ambassador Ahmet Riza Demirer said that the oil tanker, operated by the Turkish firm Geden Lines, was released in Nigerian waters early on Monday after pirates stole an untold amount of crude oil and other oil products.
Security firm AKE said that last week's attacks constituted 'a significant expansion' of the area affected by piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, occurring 200 nautical miles further south than a previous attack in April.
The report added that the International Maritime Bureau had warned last week of a 'worrying surge' of attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, which it says is now a greater hotspot for piracy than Somalia's coast.
