Six crew members onboard a German container vessel taken hostage off Nigerian waters

Six crew members of a German container vessel are said to have been kidnapped in Nigerian waters, a shipping company has reported. According to the Philippines department of labour and Ukrainian foreign ministry four of the kidnapped crews are Filipino, and one is an Ukrainian national,. Kidnapping for ransom is rampart in various parts of Nigeria. A number of foreigners and wealthy Nigerians have, in the last few years, been kidnapped in different parts of the country.

“The vessel was attacked by pirates on Saturday morning when it was approaching one of the ports of Nigeria,” said a spokesman for Peter Doehle Schiffahrts KG. Six of the crew were taken off the ship and they are now held by kidnappers in Nigeria,” he said. There were no German nationals among the kidnapped but the spokesman declined to say where those abducted were from. Those kidnapped comprise four Filipinos, one Ukrainian and one Hungarian, officials from the countries involved said. At the time of the statement there was no official contact with the kidnappers and the vessel had moved away from Nigerian waters with the 12 remaining crew safe, the spokesman said.

“The top priority is to try and establish contact with the kidnappers and try to have a quick and safe release of our seafarers,” he said. Germany’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Four of the six abducted crew members are Filipinos, the Philippines labour secretary told Reuters. An official at Ukraine’s foreign ministry said preliminary information indicated a Ukrainian citizen was among those kidnapped. He gave no further details. One Hungarian national was also taken, a person familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the rescue operations.