The containership Pomerenia Sky was attacked Saturday by pirates on two speedboats approximately 50 nautical miles off the coast of Nigeria, according to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Maritime Bulletin said.
The ship was en route from Luanda, Angola and was bound for Onne, Nigeria.
The latest update from the Maritime Bulletin said it had been confirmed that 11 of the 20 crew members had been abducted. “Talks with kidnappers already started, kidnapped crew are OK, considering circumstances," the Maritime Bulletin said.
BlueWater Reporting shows the 2,546-TEU Pomerenia Sky is deployed on Maersk Line’s WAF5 loop. The WAF5 deploys seven vessels averaging 2,532 TEUs and has a rotation of Lisbon, Leixoes, Algeciras, Malaga, Luanda, Onne, San Pedro, Algeciras and Lisbon.
“We can confirm, that the charter vessel Pomerenia Sky, which is managed and operated by the company Midocean (IoM) Ltd., has been attacked while approaching Onne, Nigeria on Oct. 27, 2018," a Maersk spokesperson said. "After the attack, nine crew members were found safe on board the vessel, but regrettably 11 crew members are missing. Maersk Line is cooperating with Midocean (IoM) Ltd. and will do our best to support in this difficult situation.”
A press release issued by Midocean on Sunday said the vessel "has proceeded to safe waters."
"Our priority is securing the earliest release of the 11 crew who have been taken and we are working closely with our partners and the local authorities to achieve that," Midocean said.