Pirates attacked the MT Althea oil tanker owned by the Greek company Medtankers and flying the flag of the Marshall Islands off the coast of Nigeria, and have taken hostage its Ukrainian captain and Greek engineer, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported on Wednesday with reference to the Embassy in Nigeria.

The attack on the MT Althea with its 18 crewmembers - 17 Ukrainians and one Greek - occurred on December 16.

"The pirates boarded the ship, trashed its communications equipment, took mobile phones and personal belongings of the crew members, took hostage the captain of the ship (a citizen of Ukraine ) and its engineer (Greek citizen ) and took off in the direction of the coast of Nigeria," the ministry said.

During the attack the hostages were not subjected to physical violence. Other crew members were not injured either, and their lives and health are out of danger.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Embassies in Nigeria and Greece in cooperation with the ship owner and Nigeria's competent authorities are taking steps to locate the hostages and free them.

Foreign media reported earlier that a Ukrainian captain and a Greek first engineer were kidnapped from an oil tanker off Nigeria's coast.