* One sailor killed in the attack, three survivors left on
board
* Vessel was heading to Cape Town from Lagos
* Kidnapped crew members are Turkish citizens
* Piracy in Gulf of Guinea at record levels
(Adds comment from Gabon authorities)
By Jonathan Spicer and Irem Koca
ISTANBUL, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Pirates off Nigeria's coast
kidnapped 15 sailors from a Turkish container ship in the Gulf
of Guinea on Saturday in a brazen and violent attack that was
farther from shore than usual.
One sailor was killed in the raid, an Azerbaijani citizen,
while those kidnapped are from Turkey, according to the
respective governments and a crew list seen by Reuters.
Accounts from crew, family members and security sources
described a sophisticated and well-orchestrated attack on
Saturday in which armed pirates boarded the ship and breached
its protective citadel, possibly with explosives.
Three sailors remain on the Mozart, which by Sunday evening
was receiving assistance in Gabonese waters off central Africa.
"The ship is in our waters and our sailors are assisting a
few nautical miles from Port Gentil," said Gabon's presidency
spokesman Jessye Ella Ekogha, without providing further detail.
The Liberian-flagged vessel was headed to Cape Town from
Lagos when it was attacked 160 kilometres (100 miles) off Sao
Tome island on Saturday, maritime reports showed.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's office said on Sunday he
was orchestrating officials in the "rescue of kidnapped ship
personnel".
Erdogan spoke twice by phone with the ship's fourth captain,
Furkan Yaren, who remained aboard after the attack, his office
said.
State-run Anadolu agency cited Yaren as saying he had been
"cruising blindly" toward Gabon with damage to the ship's
controls and only the radar working. The pirates beat crew
members, and left him with an injured leg while another still
aboard the ship had shrapnel wounds, he said.
Turkish media cited Istanbul-based ship owner Boden company
as saying the owners and operators of the vessel were abducted
at gunpoint. Boden was not immediately available.
Ambrey, a security company, said four armed men boarded the
Mozart and entered the citadel - where crew are advised to hide
in any attack - from a deck atop the cabin.
Edward Yeibo, a Nigerian Navy commander, said he was not
aware of the attack and seeking details. The Lagos naval command
office and a spokesman for Nigeria's maritime regulator were not
immediately available.
GAME-CHANGER
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, which have called for
tougher action in recent weeks, analysts said.
"The fact that someone died, the number of people taken and
the apparent use of explosives to breach the ship's citadel
means it is a potential game-changer," said David Johnson, CEO
of the UK-based EOS Risk Group.
"It's clearly quite sophisticated and if pirates have
decided to use munitions it's a big move," he said. There is "no
doubt" those kidnapped will be taken back to Nigeria's Delta and
Turkey will have little hope stopping it, he added.
Turkey's foreign ministry said the pirates had not made any
contact with Ankara.
Seyit Kaya, brother of the ship's kidnapped 42-year-old
captain Mustafa Kaya, a father of two, said in an interview he
awaited details from the ship's owner on any possible ransom.
"Since that area is where many attacks take place, they take
cautions against pirates," said Kaya, who is also a sailor.