Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian captain kidnapped near Benin is now free

Minister Zaharieva
Photo: BGNES

The Bulgarian captain who was kidnapped by pirates near Benin, has been released, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva announced today.

He is expected to return to Bulgaria soon. In April, pirates attacked the container ship "Tommi Ritscher" off the coast near the city of Cotonou, West Africa. There were no other Bulgarians among the 19-member crew of the ship. Eleven people managed to escape using a special room provided for shelter in case of pirate attacks, but eight others, including the Bulgarian, were taken hostage by the kidnappers.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Georgi Georgiev

Bulgaria expects to be removed from the FATF Grey List

By mid-2026, Bulgaria should be removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “grey list” of countries with deficiencies in its anti-money laundering systems, Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev said in an interview with public service..

published on 10/27/25 9:01 AM

International conference on Bulgarians in the Northern Black Sea Region brings together scientists from Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova

The international scientific conference “Bulgarians in the Northern Black Sea Region” will be held in Sofia on October 27 and 28, 2025 in the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Prof...

published on 10/25/25 5:00 AM

Kozloduy NPP Unit 6 shuts down for annual maintenance

The annual planned maintenance of Kozloduy NPP Unit 6 starts today and is expected to last until early December, the nuclear power plant has announced. During the shutdown, technical maintenance of the systems and facilities will be carried out,..

published on 10/24/25 7:45 PM