30th November, 2015
The captain and four other Polish seamen abducted from a ship off Nigeria’s coast last week are fine and called their families at home, Poland’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
“Today the abducted seamen contacted their families in Poland by phone to tell them that they are safe and sound,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry offered no other detail, saying it was out of concern for the seamen’s life and health.
Earlier Sunday, Michal Czerepaniak, head of the Polaris Maritime Services in Szczecin, that employed the crew for the voyage, said on Polish radio that the five were “safe and sound.” He gave no further details, either.
Armed attackers abducted the captain, three officers and a seaman from the MV Szafir cargo ship in Nigerian waters on Thursday night. The remaining 11 crew members barricaded themselves inside the ship and were left unharmed.
The ministry said the 11 were all “fine” and would be placed under consular care as soon as the ship enters port in Nigeria.
The ship was being brought to a naval port in Nigeria, while Nigerian and Polish authorities continued efforts to have the abducted crewmen released.
Culled from AP