Somali pirates have hijacked a Greek-owned products tanker, approximately 350 nautical miles southeast of Muscat in the north Arabian Sea, the European Union anti-piracy taskforce said on Wednesday.

The EU Naval Force Somalia spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy said the MV Irene SL was seized early on Wednesday with 25 crew members.

"The MV Irene SL has a dead weight of 319,247 tons and is Greek flagged and Greek owned. The vessel was on its way to Suez from Fujairah when it was attacked," O'Kennedy said.

He affirmed that the vessel has a crew of seven Greeks, one Georgian and 17 Filipinos, noting that there is presently no communication with the vessel and no information regarding the condition of the crew.

"At present there is no further information on the attack," the naval force spokesman said, adding that the Greek-owned tanker is not registered with the Maritime Security Center - Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) but has been reporting to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

The hijacking came as world piracy body International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that pirates captured 1,181 seafarers and killed eight while a total of 53 ships were hijacked in 2010.

The report which was published last month said the number of pirate attacks against ships has risen every year for the last four years.

Ships reported 445 attacks in 2010, up 10 percent from 2009. While 188 crew members were taken hostage in 2006, 1,050 were taken in 2009 and 1,181 in 2010.

According to IMB, the hijackings off the coast of Somalia accounted for 92 percent of all ship seizures last year with 49 vessels hijacked and 1,016 crew members taken hostage.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments