Greece’s Foreign Affairs Ministry announced on Tuesday that it is making efforts to rescue the Greek national who was abducted by pirates whilst employed as a crew member of Greek-flagged tanker 'Elka Aristotle' off the coast of Togo, a West African nation on the Gulf of Guinea.
According to the statement, the Ministry has engaged in actions that will lead to the safe return of the abducted Greek seafarer who was abducted earlier this month.
Upon notification of the piracy incident, both the Greek Shipping Ministry and the Foreign Affairs ministry notified the Greek embassy in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, which then alerted Togo authorities to the issue.
It was noted that the Greek Foreign Ministry also alerted the Greek embassies at Tbilisi and Manila as there were three other abductees who were Georgian and Philippino nationals.
The ministry’s crisis management team is also in constant communication with the ship-owning company and the Greek seafarer's family.
Shortly after the incident occurred on November 4, Shipping Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis had ordered competent authorities to closely monitor developments, while shipowner European Product Carriers LTD released a statement confirming and acknowledging the piracy incident involving one of its tankers.
