Negotiations for the release of the 4 kidnapped crew members -including 22-year-old Greek trainee engineer Dimitris Giatis- by pirates from Greek-owned tanker ship “ELKA Aristotle”off the coast of Togo, while it was anchored in Lomé, are ongoing under complete secrecy.

The shipping company has assumed total responsibility of negotiating with the kidnappers through American experts. No one knows yet if there has been any contact with the pirates yet. The shipping company is following the experts’ advise on the matter and keeping the talks as secretive as possible, as it is believed the perpetrators are interested only getting the ransom money and releasing the 4.

The kidnapping occurred when the pirates boarded the ship which had anchored off the port of the capital of Togo. As experts point out, the fact that the ship was not boarding made it easy for pirates to “strike” as they have many ways of approaching it. “The point is to prevent them from getting on board. If they do, then you will find it difficult to deal with it,” experts say.