The Russian seamen, who have been taken hostage by sea pirates off the coast of Nigeria, are alive and kicking.

The abductors demand a ransom, the Russian Foreign Ministry points out in a statement.

The negotiation experts that the operator company of the seized Esther Sea [Esther C] British bulk carrier had hired managed to reach the vessel Captain Valery Vinogradsky and Ship’s Engineer Andrei Krenev, and also a Romanian national by telephone.

They have all been held hostage for a whole two weeks already. The pirates, besides, attacked the Armada Tuah Malaysian ship on February 17th and took hostage yet another Russian, Chief Mate Andrei Novikov, three Ukrainian nationals and two Indian nationals.

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