Nigeria: Gunman seize seven from Italian vessel

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – Gunmen have seized seven hostages from an Italian oil supply vessel off the coast of southern Nigeria, police and company officials said Wednesday.

Twenty-five foreign workers and nearly 60 Nigerian employees were aboard a vessel belonging to a subsidiary of Italian oil giant Eni SpA that was attacked overnight, Eni said in a statement.

The company said 10 armed men attacked the ship and took seven people away on a speedboat. One of the hostages was an Italian worker at Saipem, an Eni subdivision. The company did not give the nationalities of the other hostages.

Nearly all those on the vessel were held at gunpoint for a period before the attackers left with the seven captives, a private security contractor said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

AP