Singaporean-flagged tanker hijacked off Somalia

Somali pirates have seized a Singapore-flagged tanker in the Gulf of Aden, a European Union counter-piracy force says.

The MV Pramoni with a crew of 17 Indonesians, five Chinese, one Nigerian and one Vietnamese, was en route to Kandla in India, the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EUNAVFOR) said in a statement on Friday.

The captain sent a distress call, saying that the ship had been hijacked and all the crew were well, the statement added late on Friday.

The pirates also hijacked the British chemical tanker St. James Park, the Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier Navios Apollon and the Yemeni cargo ship Al-Mahmoudia 2 over the past few days.

More than 10 vessels are currently in the custody of the pirates.

Somali pirates have made millions of dollars in ransom through seizing ships in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, linking Europe to Asia.