Warsaw: Five Polish seamen, including the captain and three officers, have been abducted from a ship on Nigerian waters, Poland's government said on Friday.
Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said on Friday the five were abducted Thursday night from the Polish cargo ship Szafir. Some 11 other crew members escaped abduction by barricaded themselves inside the ship, he said.
There were no reports of injuries and no traces of blood were found, he said. The ship was damaged when the attackers opened fire.
Waszczykowski said the government is waiting for contact from the abductors to itself or the Nigerian government to be able to open negotiations with the abductors.
Sea Industry and Navigation Minister Marek Grobarczyk said it looks like a pirate attack.
The ship was traveling from Belgium to Nigeria and was carrying metal cranes and other items, not containers.
