German company says crew taken by pirates off Nigeria coast

A German shipping company says pirates raided one of its vessels off the coast of Nigeria and took six crew members hostage.

Cor Radings, a spokesman for Hamburg-based Peter Doehle Schiffahrts-KG, said Tuesday that the Liberia-flagged container ship MV Demeter was attacked early Saturday morning before entering the port of Onne, Nigeria.

Radings says the attackers boarded the ship, seized the hostages and fled with them. He says the remaining crew was able to guide the ship to safer waters.

Radings said: "Our top priority now is to try and establish contact with the kidnappers."

He described the crew members as being from Eastern Europe and Asia, but wouldn't give more details for privacy reasons.

The majority of pirate attacks in waters off West Africa take place off Nigeria's coast.