(FILE)

Fan Shuren, the captain of a Panama-registered Chinese cargo ship from Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province, was shot dead by pirates in waters near Nigeria on February 14. That day, the ship encountered pirates near the port of Lagos, Nigeria. In an effort to cover the retreat of other crew members, Fan remained on the navigation bridge and was shot dead along with the chief engineer who was from Taiwan.

Fan, 64, became a captain in 1990. The captain reached his retirement age four years ago, but he stayed with his job in order to support his family.