Pirates have hijacked an Indian commercial ship off the coast of Somalia and the vessel is currently headed towards the shore, a former government anti-piracy official told Reuters on Monday.
India Today reported that Somali pirates hijacked a cargo ship named Al Kaushar while on its way to Al Mukala port in Yemen from Dubai on 1 April. There are 11 crew members on board, all of whom are from Mandvi, Mumbai.
According to a reports the ship captain informed the owner that a skiff had approached them seeking water. He also tipped off authorities in Dubai.
"We understand Somali pirates hijacked a commercial Indian ship and (it is heading) towards Somalia shores," Abdirizak Mohamed Dirir, a former director of the anti-piracy agency in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, said.
In March, Nairobi pirates seized an oil tanker along with its eight Sri Lankan crew for several days, the first hijacking of a large commercial vessel in the area in five years.
International anti-piracy patrols on the crucial trade route had calmed such attacks, which once numbered in the hundreds.
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