Spokesman for the Croatian Foreign Ministry Zeljko Belaj told Hina the Ministry had not yet been informed of the possible kidnapping of the Croat worker in Nigeria.
World news agencies reported on Tuesday that six foreign oil workers were kidnapped and a Nigerian sailor killed when dynamite-wielding gunmen attacked an oil vessel early on Tuesday. The agencies cited a spokesman for the Nigerian Navy as saying that the sailor was a guard aboard the Chevron Corp. ship, which was attacked off Bayelsa state, in the oil-rich south of the West African country. The same sources said that the vessel, named the FPSO Oloibiri, was stationed offshore to store crude oil. A Nigerian spokesman for the California-based Chevron said the company had shut down an oil station that supplies the ship because of the attack, decreasing production by 15,000 barrels a day.
According to agency reports, four Italians, one American and one Croatian were abducted. The American worked for Chevron in Nigeria while the rest were employees of a subsidiary, Chevron Shipping Co. No demands have been made on the company by the attackers, the reports said.
Italy's Foreign Ministry confirmed that four Italian technicians were among the kidnapped.
Foreigners are often kidnapped in the Niger Delta, but are usually released once a ransom has been paid. In the past five months alone, five Italians were kidnapped and released after a few weeks in captivity.
In February, two Croatian citizens, Renato Garma and Mate Lusa, were kidnapped in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The two were released along with a Montenegrin citizen, Milan Smolovic, in March.