Pirates kill Greek ship captain off Cameroon
The captain of a Greek-owned, Cameroon-flagged trawler was killed on Saturday while trying to repel an attack by pirates off the coast of Cameroon, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. According to the ministry, Theodoros Mastaloudis was shot at by gunmen aboard one of two vessels that closed in on his ship and another Greek trawler off Douala, Cameroon’s largest city. The remaining crew members of the two ships, including another Greek, were safe. Several other Greek vessels have recently come under attack from pirates, particularly off the coast of Somalia. Early this month, seamen aboard a Greek-flagged crude oil tanker fought off pirates’ attempts to board the ship off Somalia with the help of a European Union force. In October, a Greek tanker carrying chemicals was seized by Somali pirates and released the next month after a ransom was paid.
