A Cameroonian ship captain says he has been freed by seven armed pirates who had seized him for ransom near the coast of neighboring Nigeria, AP reports.
Moukoko Lottin said Monday he returned to Cameroon with the ship, all of its crew and some of the passengers on Sunday. He said "money was paid" for his freedom, but declined to say how much. He did not elaborate on the negotiations between the pirates and his shipping company. Lottin said he was not harmed when the pirates boarded the ship Saturday.
He said the ship waited for him in the Nigerian port of Calabar before he was freed and then he sailed it back to Cameroon.
Piracy in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea has over the last eight months escalated from low-level armed robberies to hijackings, cargo thefts and large-scale robberies.
Moukoko Lottin said Monday he returned to Cameroon with the ship, all of its crew and some of the passengers on Sunday. He said "money was paid" for his freedom, but declined to say how much. He did not elaborate on the negotiations between the pirates and his shipping company. Lottin said he was not harmed when the pirates boarded the ship Saturday.
He said the ship waited for him in the Nigerian port of Calabar before he was freed and then he sailed it back to Cameroon.
Piracy in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea has over the last eight months escalated from low-level armed robberies to hijackings, cargo thefts and large-scale robberies.