Danish oil ship briefly seized off Nigeria

[November 19, 2008]  COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- A Danish shipping group says one of its vessels has been released after being hijacked for nearly 30 hours in Nigeria's southern oil region.

Thor Shipping executive Thomas Mikkelsen says the crew aboard the Thor Galaxy was not harmed.

He says the ship was headed to Warri in southern Nigeria with oil exploration equipment when armed men boarded the ship Sunday. The ship and its Filipino crew were released about 30 hours later.

Mikkelsen said Tuesday the crew was "fine but shocked."

It was not immediately clear who the hijackers were and why they seized and released the ship. Mikkelsen said he was not aware of any ransom demands.

[Associated Press]

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