No word from pirates who seized sailors off Nigeria, Turkey says

ANKARA, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Pirates who seized 15 sailors
when they stormed a Turkish-crewed container ship in the Gulf of
Guinea two days ago have not yet made contact with authorities,
Turkey's foreign minister said on Monday.
An Azeri sailor was killed when armed attackers boarded the
vessel, which was headed to Cape Town from Lagos, and abducted
15 Turkish sailors.
"We have not yet received word from the pirates," foreign
minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.
Turkey was in contact with officials in Gabon, where he said
the Liberian-flagged container ship Mozart had docked with its
remaining crew, and with authorities in neighbouring countries.
Echoing comments by President Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's
transport minister said the government was working to ensure the
swift release of the sailors.
"We will rescue our citizens from the hands of these bandits
and reunite them with their families as soon as possible," Adil
Karaismailoglu said.
The ship was attacked 160 km (100 miles) off Sao Tome island
on Saturday, maritime reports showed.
Pirates in the Gulf, which borders more than a dozen
countries, kidnapped 130 sailors in 22 incidents last year,
accounting for all but five of those seized worldwide, according
to an International Maritime Bureau report. The attack on the Mozart could raise international pressure
on Nigeria to do more to protect shippers, who have called for
tougher action in recent weeks, analysts said.