The secretary-general of the Croatian Seafarers' Union, Neven Melvan, said on Monday that his union is in contact with Swiss unionists following the abduction of 12 crew members from a Swiss cargo ship in waters of the Nigerian coast on Saturday.

The shipping company owning the ship, Geneva-based Massoel Shipping, said that its vessel MV Glarus was carrying wheat from Nigeria’s port city of Lagos to Port Harcourt when it was attacked by pirates on Saturday.

The attack happened some 45 nautical miles from Bonny Island in the Niger Delta, with pirates taking 12 of the 19 crew hostage. One of the seamen abducted was a Croatian national.

“We are in contact with a unionist in Switzerland who is at the helm of the Nautilus trade union,” head of the seafarers’ union, Neven Melvan, said on Monday.

“The company (Massoel Shipping) is obviously trying to solve this problem quietly, so to speak” he added.

Melvan said that information about the identity of the Croatian sailor taken by pirates would not be made public, as is the usual practice in this type of events.

Seven of the kidnapped crew members are from the Philippines. The remaining five hail from Slovenia, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia and Bosnia, Nigeria’s maritime agency said.

Spokesman for Massoel Shipping said that the crew members’ families are being closely informed of the situation.

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