Somali pirates have hijacked the Panama-flagged MV Suez cargo ship with 23 crew on board, the European Union naval force (EUNAVFOR) has said.
The ship, which is carrying a cement consignment, came under small arms fire while sailing in a recommended shipping lane in the Gulf of Aden.
Its crew are from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India.
Although they called for help, the pirates were on board by the time a naval helicopter arrived.
Early on Monday morning, a message from the 17,300-tonne freighter said it was captured "under small arms fire from a pirate attack". Minutes later she reported "pirates on board", EUNAVFOR Somalia said in a statement.
By: Brant
For an indepth look at the Somali pirates, see the forthcoming book, Pirate State: Inside Somalia's Terrorism at Sea, available for pre-order @ Amazon.com.
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