WARSAW: Armed attackers abducted five Polish seamen from a cargo ship in Nigerian waters, Poland’s government said on Friday.

Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said the five, including the captain and three officers, were abducted on Thursday night from the ship Szafir.

A further 11 crew members who barricaded themselves inside the ship were safe and in contact by phone, he said.

The Polish EuroAfrica company, the ship owner, said the ship was “attacked by armed pirates from two boats, some 35 nautical miles off the Nigerian coast”. The five crew members were “most probably abducted by the pirates” who left after having “ransacked the crew’s cabins,” EuroAfrica said.

Nigerian Navy vessels are bringing troops and navigators to the ship, which is flying a Cypriot flag, the company said in a statement posted on its website.

The company said that in the interest of the crew members’ lives and health it will be releasing no more information.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2015