PRETORIA, April 21. /TASS/. Three Russian citizens are aboard the container ship Tommi Ritscher captured by pirates last Sunday, a representative of the Russian Embassy in Benin and Togo told TASS on Tuesday.

"Yes, we can report that three citizens of the Russian Federation are aboard the vessel," the diplomat stressed.

As the diplomatic mission said on its Twitter account, specifying the Russians’ status, they are "among the hostages seized by the pirates."

It was earlier unclear whether the Russians were the crewmembers and whether they had managed to hide in the ship's citadel.

The container ship Tommi Ritscher with 11 crewmembers, of whom eight are being held hostage, is in its anchorage in the territorial waters of Benin.

Three Benin Navy patrol boats, and also a patrol vessel of the Nigerian Navy that arrived overnight to Monday, are staying in the close proximity to the captured vessel. Negotiations with the pirates are underway.