Six Turkish crew members of a cargo ship have been abducted by pirates off the coast of Nigeria.

The pirates attacked the Turkish vessel, named the M/T Puli, in the early hours of Monday while it was reportedly carrying chemicals from Gabon to Ivory Coast through the oil-rich Niger Delta.

"All the six Turkish crew members, including the captain of the vessel, the chief officer and the chief engineer, were abducted by the attackers," Nigerian Navy spokesman Chris Ezekobe told AFP.

Ezekobe said the navy was working with Interpol and Nigeria’s secret police to secure the crew's release.

A lawyer for the shipping company Kaptanoglu Group, the owner of the M/T Puli, said both the kidnapped crew and those who remained on the ship were unharmed. Company officials said they have had no contact with the pirates.