Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The vessel was en route to Somalia from Asia when it was seized on the weekend, said Noel Choong, spokesman for the International Maritime Bureau.
A distress call was received from the vessel on Monday and the bureau is investigating when the attack actually occurred, Choong said.
No further details were immediately available on Tuesday morning.
Ten ships carrying about 200 crew members are currently believed to be held by pirates along Somalia's 3,000-kilometre coastline.
Most pirate attacks occur in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, but attacks have also been increasing in the Indian Ocean off eastern Somalia.
In recent weeks, there have been increased international efforts to crack down on pirates operating in the African waters.
Somalia, a nation of about eight million people, has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other.
Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaeda have been battling the shaky transitional government and its Ethiopian allies since their combined forces pushed the Islamists from the capital in December 2006.
With files from the Associated Press
Source: CBC, Oct 21, 2008