Somali pirates seize Indonesian chemical tanker

Somali pirates have hijacked a
chemical tanker in the Gulf of
Aden - the third vessel seized in
waters around Somalia this
week.
Maritime officials said the
Pramoni - a 20,000-tonne
Indonesian-owned vessel - was
seized en route to India and was
now heading towards Somalia.
The ship has a crew of 24, most of whom
are Indonesian.
Last Monday Somali pirates captured two
other ships with 45 crew off the East
African coast.
A UK-flagged chemical tanker, the St James
Park, was captured in the Gulf of Aden
while on its way to Thailand from Spain.
The Navios Apollon, a Panamanian-flagged
Greek cargo ship with 19 crew, was
hijacked north of the Seychelles.
In the latest incident, the captain of the
Singapore-flagged Pramoni reported by
radio that the ship had been hijacked but
all the crew were well, the EU counter-
piracy force Navfor said.
The ship's crew consists of 17 Indonesians,
five Chinese, one Nigerian and one
Vietnamese, it added.
Pirate attacks are common off the Somali
coast and international navies have been
deployed to counter them.