A Turkish cargo ship was attacked by pirates off the coast Nigeria on early Tuesday with 10 sailors, all Turkish nationals, taken hostage for ransom.

Axar.az reports citing Daily Sabah that according to a statement from the ship operator Kadıoğlu Maritime, the ship named "Paksoy-1" was sailing without freight from Cameroon's port city of Douala to Abidjan in Ivory Coast when the pirates boarded the ship in the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean.

The 8,900 deadweight-ton (Dwt) Turkish-flagged ship was attacked 230 kilometers (124 miles) the town of Brass and communication and navigation equipment were damaged, the statement said.

"No injuries or loss of lives occurred according to initial information. Our efforts continue for the safe and sound release of all of our personnel," it added.

Pirates initially held 10 out of 18 crew members but later set two sailors free.

According to Turkish maritime-related news website denizhaber.net, the 114-meter-long and 17-meter-wide ship was brought to the territorial waters of neighboring Ghana.

A ship from the Ghanaian Navy is sailing close to the abducted ship, the report said, citing Ghanaian officials who were trying to communicate with the pirates for the release of the personnel including the captain and first mate.