Pirates kidnap US sailors from Nigerian coast

Pirates have attacked a commercial ship near the coast of Nigeria and kidnapped two US seamen, a US defence official said.

The captain and an engineer were taken away from the offshore supply vessel during the attack in international waters off the Gulf of Guinea.

The pair were kidnapped from the US-flagged vessel named C-Retriever, a 222-foot ship owned by Edison Chouest Offshore of Louisiana, the official said.

The vessel and 11 other members of the crew were released.

Nigerian Navy Captain Kabir Aliyu confirmed that there was an attack. It was unclear whether a ransom demand had been made.

The US defence official said the US Navy is monitoring the situation and that the closest military vessel is a Dutch Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea with 90 US Marines aboard as part of an Africa training mission.