Nigerian Pirates Release City of Xiamen Crew

The City of Xiamen. Photo: Sunship

Nigerian pirates have released five crewmembers kidnapped from the City of Xiamen containership during an April 25 attack about 100 miles off Nigeria’s coast.

The Germany-based owner of the vessel, Sunship Schiffahrtskontor KG, confirmed the release of the hostages saying that the five men – four Polish and one Russian – were released on May 11 and had already “returned to their own countries and reunited with their families.”

It is unclear if a ransom was paid for their release.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said that during the attack, 14 heavily armed pirates stormed the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged City of Xiamen, breaching the citadel where the crew was hiding. The pirates took five crew captive before escaping with cash, the IMB report said.