Yemisi Izuora
Suspected pirates struck on Saturday off Nigeria’s coast abducting crew members of a vessel.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed that six of its nationals were among the crew members abducted.
The crew members were aboard a Cameroon-flagged STEVIA cargo ship.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oleg Nikolenko, according to the Ukrinform news agency, said the pirates attacked the vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.
He confirmed that the pirates captured eight members of the crew; adding that the incident occured 28 nautical miles (51.8 kms) off the coast of Nigeria.
“Yes, we are aware of this situation. As a result of a pirate attack on the ship off the coast of Nigeria on December 16; eight crew members were captured, including six Ukrainian citizens,” Nikolenko said.
He disclosed that the owner of the STEVIA cargo ship is an Albanian company; noting that both the Ukrainian embassy in Nigeria and Albania were taking appropriate response measures.
The daughter of one of the captured sailors, on Saturday, also said that there were six Ukrainians aboard the vessel.
Pirate activity in the region has increased in recent years; prompting Nigeria, Ghana, and other surrounding countries to set up a naval coordination operation to combat the phenomenon.