“Alison Management Corp is the management company ... of the tanker MV Curacao Trader ... reports that pirates attacked her ship about 210 nautical miles off the coast of Benin at 11:00 a.m. July 17th. 13 out of 19 crew members (Ukrainians and Russians) were taken hostage by pirates, ”the Maritime Bulletin quoted the company as saying.
It is noted that at the moment the ship is drifting due to lack of crew. The MV Frio Chikuma was sent to help the tanker.
In May, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced the release of three Russians captured by pirates in April in the territorial waters of Benin.