Pirates attacked the sea container ship Demeter, when it was in the Gulf of Biafra to the south of the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt. The vessel belongs to the Hamburg shipping company Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG and is registered in Liberia.

Eight pirates from a high-speed motor boat made their way to the ship and abducted six crew members, including the captain of the ship, an international agency, Sea Guardian, reported on Monday, October 23. The incident occurred on October 21.

After the pirates left the ship, Demeter continued to move with 12 crew members remaining on board, who were not injured as a result of the attack. At the moment the ship is already in safe waters.

Stolen sailors are not German citizens, reports MTI Networks. Their citizenship, for security reasons, is not reported.

In total for the first nine months of this year 121 cases of piracy and armed robbery were recorded in international waters, the International Maritime Bureau reported on October 16.