Two Russian sailors from the North Spirit ship who were captured off Cameroon in mid-May and released on Saturday said on Tuesday they felt well despite a serious loss of weight in captivity.
The North Spirit vessel with a Russian-Ukrainian crew, flying the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and owned by Greece's Balthellas Chartering S.A., was attacked on May 16 while anchored in Cameroon's largest port of Douala.
Russian nationals, Captain Boris Tersintsev and Chief Engineer Officer Igor Shumik, were later transferred to Nigeria, where they were held hostage by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.
"Tersintsev said they suffered a serious weight loss as they were given only pasta or rice. However, despite that, they feel well and look forward to returning home," a trade union of Russian sailors said in a statement.
Tersintsev earlier said they were held in a mangrove forest without clean drinking water.
The two sailors are now undergoing medical examination in the southern Nigerian port of Lagos. They will leave the country as soon as they receive all the necessary documents.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, one of the largest militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, has been linked to attacks on foreign-owned companies in the oil-rich but impoverished region.
VLADIVOSTOK, July 6 (RIA Novosti)
