In the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, armed pirates seized the ship Stevia and took hostage eight members of its crew, including six Ukrainians, the press service of the Ukrainian Embassy in Nigeria reported.

"According to the data available at the embassy, ​​on December 16, 2020 in the Gulf of Guinea, a group of unidentified persons attacked the ship 'Stevia' (flag of Cameroon), as a result of which the attackers seized and removed in an unknown direction eight members of the ship's crew, of which six were citizens Ukraine (in total there were 15 people on the ship). The rest of the crew managed to get into the protective room during the attack and stayed on the ship," the message says.

The vessel is currently in the port of Lagos (Nigeria). The consul keeps in touch with the Ukrainian sailors on board the ship.

As reported, the diplomatic agencies, together with Nigerian competent authorities and the representative of the shipowner company, are taking appropriate response measures. So far, the details of the negotiation process have not been disclosed.

The embassy reported that the case is under special control at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the involved foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine.

In turn, the Seafarers Journal portal on Facebook reports that the ship was attacked by armed pirates, who took eight crew members hostage, including six Ukrainians, and fled in an unknown direction.

According to the daughter of one of the hostages, the captain of the ship, the first mate, the second mate, the senior engineer, the electrician and the viper were captured. She also said that her father was on the Stevia ship, who works there as the first mate and that he was definitely among the hostages, but the side of the ship owner and the agent does not provide any information about the incident.