Five Abducted in Attack on Polish Cargo Ship off Nigeria
November 27 2015 - 7:00AM
Dow Jones News
WARSAW, Poland—Armed attackers abducted five Polish seamen,
including the captain and three officers, from a cargo ship on
Nigerian waters, Poland's government said on Friday.
Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said the five were
abducted Thursday night from the ship Szafir. A further 11 crew
members, who escaped abduction by barricading themselves inside the
ship, were safe and in contact by phone, he said.
Sea Industry and Navigation Minister Marek Grobarczyk said it
looked like the attack was carried out by pirates.
The ship, which belongs to a Polish company but is flying a
Cypriot flag, is some 30 nautical miles from the Nigerian
coast.
There were no reports of injuries and no traces of blood were
found, Mr. Waszczykowski said. The ship was damaged when the
attackers opened fire.
Mr. Waszczykowski said no demands for ransom have been made and
the government is waiting for contact from the abductors either
directly or via the Nigerian government to be able to open
negotiations.
The ship was traveling from Antwerp, Belgium, to Nigeria and was
carrying metal cranes and other items, not containers.
Copyright 2015 the Associated Press.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 27, 2015 07:45 ET (12:45 GMT)
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