By IANS,
Nairobi : Somali pirates have hijacked a Panama-flagged ship in the Gulf of Aden with 23 crew members, including Indians, on board, the European Union naval force said Monday.
The MV Suez, which was travelling in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) was attacked early Monday, Naval Force spokesman John Harbour said.
“The MV Suez, weight 17,300 tonnes with a crew of 23 from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India, is a Panama-flagged merchant vessel with a cargo of cement bags,” Harbour was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The vessel reported being fired at by pirates and a few minutes later said pirates were on board, he said.
The Horn of Africa’s coastline is considered one of the world’s most dangerous stretches of water because of piracy. Somalia is at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important shipping channels.