Six crewmembers of the Danish cargo vessel The Leopard – two Danes and four Filipinos – have been kidnapped by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, NATO has confirmed to Politiken.
A Turkish naval vessel was dispatched to the Leopard, which radioed at 2 p.m. on Wednesday that it was under attack, but on arrival the vessel was empty.
“When we were told that the Leopard had been attacked, The Gaziantep steamed to the area and when they got close sent out a helicopter to investigate. We were told that the crew had gone into a safe room, but we were unable to contact them,” said NATO Chief Anti-piracy Spokesperson Lt. Comm. Jacqui Sheriff.
Failing contact from the helicopter and with no signs of life on the vessel, a Turkish boarding party was sent aboard.
"There was no-one on board, the crew had been taken hostage by pirates,” Sheriff said.
It remains uncertain what the Leopard’s cargo was. The Leopard is owned by the Danish Shipcraft company. Headquartered north of Copenhagen, the company specialises in carrying weapons, nuclear and dangerous cargoes.
