Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Suspected militants today attacked a vessel taking supplies to an oil production platform in the Niger Delta, Felix Ogbaudu, the police commissioner in the area said.

Police are still trying to get details of the attack, including the identity of the vessel and any casualties, Ogbaudu said by telephone from Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers state and hub of the Nigerian oil industry.

The attack took place along the Bonny River while the boat was taking supplies to the Mystras Platform, a facility used by oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, he said.

Shell spokesman Precious Okolobo could not be reached on his mobile phone.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, the militant group whose activities have led to a reduction of about 20 percent in Nigerian oil production since 2006, said its allies blew up an oil tanker in Port Harcourt on Jan. 11 after it threatened to ``rock'' the global oil market by sabotaging the industry in Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer.

Shell, Europe's largest oil company, halted crude exports from the Forcados terminal in Nigeria, said Rainer Winzenried, a spokesman for the company in the Netherlands, today.

A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the world's biggest container- shipping line, said none of its vessels will call at Nigerian ports until militant violence abates.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Okolo in Lagos at pokolo@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 14, 2008 15:45 EST