Seaman reportedly avoided kidnap (6)
I believe the answer is:
abduct
'kidnap' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'seaman reportedly avoided' is the wordplay.
'seaman' becomes 'ab'.
'reportedly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'avoided' becomes 'ducked' (ducking is a kind of avoiding).
'ducked' is a homophone of 'duct'.
'ab'+'duct'='ABDUCT'
(Other definitions for abduct that I've seen before include "Remove by force" , "Snatch away" , "Kidnap, shanghai" , "Kidnap, carry person off by force" , "Criminally remove to an undisclosed location" .)