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French tanker hijacked off Ivory Coast freed, crew safe


    ABIDJAN (Reuters) - A Luxembourg-flagged, French-owned products tanker hijacked by suspected Nigerian pirates off Ivory Coast at the weekend has been released, and its 17-person crew is safe, the vessel's owner said on Wednesday.

    SEA-Tankers, which owns the vessel Gascogne, lost contact with the ship on Sunday morning.

    "SEA-Tankers are pleased to report that product tanker Gascogne has been released," the company said in a statement. "SEA-Tankers are very pleased all 17 seafarers are reported safe, however sadly two seafarers were injured during the incident but are being taken care of," the statement read.

    (Reporting By Joe Bavier; Editing by Richard Valdmanis)