Nairobi: Gunmen on Sunday hijacked an Indian ship with 25 crew members in the high seas off Somalia's pirate-infested coastline, a maritime official said.
"We do not know the exact location, but we suspect it was in northeastern Somalia," said Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme in the Kenyan port town of Mombasa.
Mwangura added that he was in touch with Indian maritime officials to get more information about the siezed cargo vessel and its crew.
Somalia's coastline has increasingly become risky to ships sailing the Indian Ocean, with 37 attacks on vessels reported by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) since mid-March 2005.
Last month, a US navy ship seized 10 suspected Somali pirates who allegedly hijacked an Indian merchant ship.
They are now facing trial before a Kenyan court where they have denied the charges.
Somalia has had no functioning central administration since the 1991 ousting of President Mohamed Siad Barre and pirates have increasingly taken advantage of the lack of authority to ply the 3,700-kilometre coast.
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