The Hellenic coast guard released video footage of the operation carried out onboard a Palau-flagged tanker in the sea area 3.7 nautical miles west of Chios, the captain of which was arrested with the accusation of abduction of a Greek passenger and two others of foreign nationality.
This is a strange hostage story that unfolded in the Greek island of Chios. This story attracted the attention of many national media which reported the story.
In a video released, armed men of the Hellenic coast guard’s special forces boarded the tanker on February 10, and carried out an inspection, which resulted in the arrest of the captain, who is accused of abducting three people.
The Coast Guard stated in its announcement on Saturday evening that “in the early hours of today, the Chios Port Authority was informed of an accusation of abduction of a national passenger on a Palau-flagged tanker. The vessel was located in the sea area 3.7 n.m. west of Chios, coming from Turkey to Egypt, with a total of fifteen people on board.”
A patrol vessel immediately went to the area, which notified the tanker to change course towards the anchorage of Chios, following an order from the District Attorney of Chios.
As it is reported, officials from the security office and the special forces unit of the Chios port authority boarded the ship to carry out an inspection, with negative results, while two more foreign passengers declared their abduction.
The three people who declared their abduction, as well as the master and the first engineer of the ship, were safely transported to the port of Chios.
The master of the tanker was arrested by the central port authority of Chios, which is conducting the preliminary investigation, while the sailing of the tanker was prohibited due to insufficient crew composition, reads the Hellenic coast guard statement.
The Hellenic coast guard didn’t provide more details about the cause of the abduction, but various local media reported that three inspectors, the one of Greek nationality and the other two of foreign nationality, had gone to check on the ship. This information is not yet confirmed by the official Greek authorities.
