MURMANSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th December, 2019) Pirates released nine crew members of Norwegian ship MV Bonita, which was attacked on November 2 off the coast of Benin, Norwegian newspaper ABC Nyheter reported on Tuesday.
The crew was released on Friday after spending 35 days as hostages and all sailors are well, it said.
"On Friday and Saturday, they underwent a medical examination in Nigeria, doctors concluded that they can go home to the Philippines," Oystein Beisland, the head of shipowner JJ Ugland Companies, said, as quoted by the publication.
The publication also reported that all the sailors were Filipinos, and they had returned to their homeland on Monday. The company's president did not disclose conditions on which the sailors had been released, mentioning only that the company made every effort to resolve the situation.
On November 2, pirates attacked the Norwegian ship MV Bonita off the coast of Benin and kidnapped nine people. It is noted that the remaining crew members reported the incident to local authorities. The ship later arrived at the port of Cotonou.
