Minister says ‘all necessary action’ taken for abducted Greek crew

Greece is taking "all necessary measures" to secure the safe return of the Greek seamen who were abducted by gunmen from Greek tanker off the coast of Cameroon on December 31, Shipping Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis said Thursday.

Speaking on TV channel ANT1 on Thursday, the minister called for calm, saying many of the actions taken "cannot be made public."

Plakiotakis also said the "objective purpose and aim" of the abductors is to get ransom, but did not clarify if a ransom demand has been made to the ship-owning company.

The 183-meter freighter Happy Lady was attacked two miles off the port of Limboh, where the ship was riding at anchor.

The gunmen abducted eight of the 28 crew members, identified as five Greeks, two Filipinos and a Ukrainian national, and injured one person, according to Greek authorities.