The U.S. Navy says a cargo ship has been hijacked off the Somalia coast — the latest in a series of attacks by pirates operating out of the African country.
Navy Commander Jane Campbell of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet says the 26,000-ton bulk cargo carrier was attacked Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden.
She says the ship was flying a Hong Kong flag but is operated by the Islamic Republic of IranShipping Lines.
The status of the crew or its cargo were not known. Campbell says the ship is likely heading toward an anchorage site off the Somali coast.
The ship's name or other details were not immediately known.
The wheat-loaded Delight, bound for Iran, had 25 crew members on board and was captured off the coast of Yemen, Reuters reported.
The hijacking comes just days after a Saudi oil supertanker was hijacked and anchored off a Somali port.
The ship was carrying wheat to Iran's Bandar Abbas port, Reuters cites a Chinese news agency as reporting.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment