According to a tweet by the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, its embassy in Nigeria is in contact with the Nigerian government to ensure the release of the sailors.

The tweet reads: "@ are maintaining contacts with Nigerian officials to liberate Russian sailors captured in "

Pavel Fedulov, the director of a Briese Schiffahrts subsidiary in St Petersburg said “The armed pirates approached (the vessel) in a boat, captured the crew and left on the boat at the direction of the Nigerian shores.”

According to security analysts, most of the pirates are militants from the Niger Delta.

The Nigerian Navy had earlier rescued an oil tanker, MT Gaz Providence, and 21 crew members from an attack by pirates near Bonny Island.