TBILISI. May 3 (Interfax) - Along with the Georgian sailors, the captain of their ship, who is a Russian citizen, has been kidnapped in Gabon's territorial waters, Georgian seafarers' trade union chairman Anatoly Chidzhavadze told reporters on Wednesday.
Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency said on Tuesday that pirates kidnapped three sailors, including two Georgian citizens, from a vessel anchored in Gabon's territorial waters. The kidnapping occurred in the early hours of May 2, the agency said then without specifying the name of the vessel or the flag it was flying.
Chidzhavadze said the Georgian consul in South Africa, the Georgian Foreign Ministry and an American ship-owning company had joined the efforts to free the sailors.
He said it was still unclear who kidnapped the sailors, since the kidnappers have not made contact yet and have not put forward their demands.
"The captain, who is a Russian citizen, the first and second mates [of the captain] have been kidnapped," Chidzhavadze said.
He noted that the ship's crew included 14 people and that those remaining on board were not in danger.