Two Georgian sailors kidnapped from Gabon territorial waters released

The Adjara Government said the owner company had made a “major contribution” to the safe release of the sailors from captivity, with the efforts also involving the Maritime Transport Agency, the Georgian Foreign Ministry, and consulate generals of Georgia in South Africa, Ethiopia, the State of New York and Singapore. Photo: Government of Adjara

Agenda.ge, 30 May 2023 - 16:35, Tbilisi,Georgia

Two Georgian sailors who had been kidnapped from a ship anchored in the territorial waters of Gabon have been released and have returned to their country, the Government of the western region of Adjara said on Tuesday.

Adjara Government Head Tornike Rizhvadze and Aleksi Akhvlediani, the Head of the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency, met the sailors and their families following their release.

After meeting the two citizens to discuss their release, Rizhvadze also pledged the local Government would work to ensure the country’s maritime industry “as successful as possible” with a “focus on each sailor”.

The two Georgian nationals were abducted on May 2 from a ship sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, while it was anchored in the territorial waters of the central African country.

The Adjara Government said the owner company had made a “major contribution” to the safe release of the sailors from captivity, with the efforts also involving the Maritime Transport Agency, the Georgian Foreign Ministry, and consulate generals of Georgia in South Africa, Ethiopia, the State of New York and Singapore.