A sailor, an Azerbaijani citizen, was killed in the raid, while the abductees come from Turkey, according to the respective governments and a list of the crew seen by Reuters.
Reports from crew, family members and security sources described a sophisticated and well-orchestrated attack in which armed pirates boarded the ship and breached its protective fortress, possibly with explosives.
Three sailors remain on the ship Mozart, which until Sunday evening received assistance in Gabonese waters off Central Africa.
“The ship is in our waters and our sailors are helping a few nautical miles from Port Gentil,” said Gabonese presidency spokeswoman Jessye Ella Ekogha, without giving further details.
The Liberian-flagged ship was heading for Cape Town from Lagos when it was attacked in the Gulf of Guinea, 160 kilometers from the island of Sao Tome on Saturday, maritime reports said.
The ship’s fourth captain, Furkan Yaren, was “blindly cruising” to Gabon, with damage to the ship’s controls and only the radar operating, according to the Anadolu news agency. The pirates beat the crew and left him with one leg injured, while another still on board the ship had shrapnel wounds, Yaren said.
Turkish media quoted the ship’s Boden company in Istanbul as saying that the ship’s owners and operators had been abducted. Boden was not immediately available.
Ambrey, a security company, said four armed men boarded Mozart and entered the citadel – where the crew is advised to hide in any attack – from the deck at the top of the cabin.
Edward Yeibo, the commander of the Nigerian navy, said he was unaware of the attack and was looking for details. The Lagos Naval Command Office and a spokesman for the Nigerian Maritime Regulatory Authority were not immediately available.
Game changer
The Gulf pirates, which borders more than a dozen countries, abducted 130 sailors in 22 incidents last year, representing all but five of those captured worldwide, according to a report by the International Maritime Bureau.
The attack on Mozart could increase international pressure on Nigeria to do more to protect shippers, who have called for tougher action in recent weeks, analysts said.
“The fact that someone died, the number of people taken and the apparent use of explosives to break into the ship’s fortress means that it is a potential game changer,” said David Johnson, CEO of EOS Risk Group in the UK.
“It’s clearly quite sophisticated and if the pirates decided to use the ammunition it’s a big move,” he said. “There is no doubt” that the abductees will be taken back to the Nigerian Delta, and Turkey will have little hope of stopping it, he added.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said the pirates had not made any contact with Ankara.
Seyit Kaya, the brother of 42-year-old Captain Mustafa Kaya, abducted from the ship, the father of two children, said in an interview that he expects details from the ship’s owner about any possible redemption.
“As the area is involved in many attacks, they are taking precautions against pirates,” said Kaya, who is also a sailor.