MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. The pirates who boarded the container ship Tommi Ritscher in the Gulf of Guinea have left the vessel together with eight hostages, among whom there are three Russians, a representative of Russia’s embassy in Benin and Togo told TASS on Tuesday.
"The pirates have left the ship and the territorial waters of Benin," the diplomat said, adding that "there are no other details at present."
Nigerian special forces boarded the container ship earlier on Tuesday and freed 11 crewmembers who stayed in the protected cabin. However, the Russians were in the group of eight hostages held by the pirates. After the negotiations with the Benin authorities, the assailants left the vessel together with the hostages.
Last Sunday, a group of pirates penetrated the container ship Tommi Ritscher which was in its anchorage in the territorial waters of Benin. They took eight crew hostage while the other 11 crewmembers managed to hide in the ship’s citadel.
The Benin Navy boats that came to the ship’s rescue drove away the speedboats where the pirates’ accomplices were. As a result, they were cut off from the coast.
A Nigerian Navy boat with special forces on its board arrived at the place of the incident overnight to Tuesday. Several hours ago, the special forces penetrated the container ship and freed a part of the crew of the vessel, which is registered in Portugal and is owned by a German company.