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Pirates Seize 10 Crew on Turkish Vessel Off Nigeria, IMB Says

Pirates Seize 10 Crew on Turkish Vessel Off Nigeria, IMB Says

(Bloomberg) -- Suspected pirates kidnapped 10 crew members on board a Turkish cargo vessel off Nigeria’s coast, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

The incident occurred early Sunday July 14 about 120 nautical miles (220 kilometers) southwest of Brass in Nigeria’s coastal Bayelsa state, the London-based body that track attacks on sea vessels said Tuesday.

Nigerian Navy spokesman Suleiman Dahun couldn’t immediately provide details of the incident when contacted by phone on Tuesday.

Turkey is aware of the incident but won’t provide any details, Omer Celik, a spokesman for the ruling Ak Party, told reporters in Ankara earlier.

Piracy is common in the Gulf of Guinea, including Nigeria’s coastline. Of the 75 maritime kidnappings reported this year, 62 occurred in the region that comprises the waterways of Cameroon through to Guinea, according to a July 8 report by the IMB.

To contact the reporters on this story: Elisha Bala-Gbogbo in Abuja at ebalagbogbo@bloomberg.net;Cagan Koc in Istanbul at ckoc2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: John McCorry at jmccorry@bloomberg.net, Anthony Osae-Brown

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