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Pirates capture Turkish vessel with female officer onboard

Pirates capture Turkish vessel with female officer onboard

Istanbul: The family of the female officer onboard a Turkish vessel hijacked in the Gulf of Aden has expressed concern regarding her safety in the hands of the Somalian pirates. The vessel named Horizon-1, was en route from Jordan to Saudi Arabia with a cargo of sulfide, when it was captured last week with 23 crew members on board including Aysun Akbay (who served as the fourth officer). 

Her father, Özcan Akbay, told the Anatolia news agency over the weekend, "We want to see our daughter return home safe and sound. We expect help on this issue from all authorities."

According to Reuters, Turkey's Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim said that one of the two frigates following the vessel had gone to the scene of the attack but that it had not intervened to avoid putting the lives of the crew at risk.

As of Friday, Anatolia, citing anonymous sources, said that the ship, which dropped anchor on Thursday morning at the port of Huzdivo in Somalia, was being taken to the port of Eyl in Somalia.  [13/07/09]