"The embassy has confirmed the abduction of three Russian sailors by Nigerian pirates," Russian Embassy Spokesman Artyom Romanov told TASS.

RABAT, December 1 /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja corroborated a pirate attack on the Saronic Breeze vessel on Wednesday.

"The parties concerned are exerting all necessary efforts for their quick release," he said. Romanov refused to elaborate on the issue for safety reasons in order not to jeopardize the sailors’ lives and well-being.

"At present, the Russian embassy is working in close contact with the vessel’s ship-owner and Nigeria’s competent authorities to resolve this crisis," a diplomatic source in Abuja told TASS.

Earlier media reports said that pirates had seized the Saronic Breeze, which was located off the Cotonou port in Benin. They headed to neighboring Nigeria where they left the ship with three hostages - the ships’ captain, the second mechanic and the cook.