VILNIUS — The kidnapped captain, a Lithuanian national, of the Limarko ship that was attacked off the coast of Cameroon in May is said to be unharmed according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Captain Dmitrij Baskirov was abducted from his motorboat on May 16 by pirates, but other members of his crew were able to steer the main ship back to port in Douala. He is thought to have been kept in Kenya since the kidnapping.

“Captain Dmitrij Baskirov is unharmed. Lithuanian authorities are making every effort to free him,” the foreign ministry said. The ministry is working with Russian authorities to free Baskirov and five other Russian sailors who were also abducted.

The attackers who abducted the sailors are yet to be identified, but they have demanded ransom.

Authorities are eager to resolve the situation, President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

“Our foreign ministry is in direct contact with Russian authorities and the search is being carried out together,” Grybauskaite said.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main armed militant group in Cameroon’s neighbor Nigeria, has denied involvement in the kidnapping but said last month it knew where the men were and that they were in good health, AFP reported.

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