Pirates kidnap 11 foreigners from German-owned ship in Nigeria

11 crew members of German-owned container ship, the MV Pomerania Sky, were kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Nigeria on Saturday, October 27, 2018.

According to a statement by Midocean (IOM) Ltd, the vessel's management firm, the incident happened early on Saturday while the ship was headed for Onne Port Complex situated on the Bonny River Estuary in Rivers State.

A company statement read, "Our priority is securing the earliest release of the eleven crew who have been taken and we are working closely with our partners and the local authorities to achieve that. The families of those crew members taken are being kept informed of the situation."

Eight of the abducted victims have been reported by Polish state media, citing Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, to be Polish nationals, as the nationality of the other three remain unknown.

Similar abduction happened in September

The incident comes just days after the 12 crew members who were kidnapped from the MV Glarus, a Swiss merchant vessel owned by Massoel Shipping, were released by their abductors one month after they were taken.

Pirates had boarded the ship while it was travelling Nigerian waters between Lagos and Rivers and abducted the crew on September 22, 2018. They boarded the Glarus by means of long ladders and cut the razor wire on deck to gain access to the vessel.

According to a statement released by Massoel on Monday, October 29, the crew members have been released and were in Switzerland on Monday before returning to their homes.

The company is believed to have paid a ransom to the pirates as it had disclosed days after the abduction that it was in contact with the pirates and stressed that the safe return of its crew was its "first and absolute priority".

According to Swiss justice authorities, the release of the hostages took place on Friday, October 26, a day before the abduction of the crew from the MV Pomerania Sky.