The Greek Merchant Marine Ministry said that four of the 24-member crew of the 2003-built ‘Elka Aristotle’ were kidnapped — a Greek, two Phillipino and a Georgian.
European Product Carriers, the ship’s manager, also confirmed the incident, saying, “We regret to confirm that an incident occurred involving ‘Elka Aristotle’ off Lome, Togo on 4th November, 2019. This resulted in the kidnap of four crew members.
“We cannot comment in detail at the present time, except to say that the safety and security of our people is of paramount importance to us and we are doing everything we can to ensure their prompt and safe release.
“The vessel and remaining crew are safe,” the company said in a statement.
This latest attack came two days after nine crew members were taken from a Norwegian-flagged bulk carrier, which was anchored off the coast of neighbouring Benin at the time.