Pirates have seized a Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier off the coast of Somalia and taken its 23-member crew hostage, the boat owners said Tuesday.
The MV Abdullah was sailing from Mozambique's capital Maputo to the United Arab Emirates with a cargo of 55,000 tonnes of coal when it was attacked around midday on Tuesday, the company said.
"A group of 15-20 Somali pirates hijacked the ship," said Meherul Karim, chief executive officer of Kabir Steel Re-Rolling Mills, which owns the vessel.
The company released an audio message from one of the crew held hostage, who said that gunmen in two speed boats approached the vessel and opened fire.
Karim said the crew were unharmed, adding that "we are waiting for the next message and call."
Mizanul Islam, a company spokesman, said the attack took place around 1,000 kilometres off the coast of Somalia.
Hijackings off Somalia since December have fuelled concerns about a resurgence of Indian Ocean raids by opportunistic pirates, coming on top of a separate surge in attacks launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Houthi gunmen have launched scores of attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden targeting what they deem to be Israeli-linked vessels in response to Israel's war against the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
International naval forces have been diverted north from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea, sparking fears that pirates will exploit the security gap.
The first successful case of Somali piracy since 2017 was recorded in December.
Naval forces -- including from India, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles -- have since freed fishing boats seized by gunmen and thwarted other attempted attacks.
Pirate attacks off the Somali coast peaked in 2011 -- with gunmen launching attacks as far as 3,655 kilometres from the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean -- before falling off sharply after international navies sent warships and commercial shipping deployed armed guards.
Analysts however say that Somali piracy today poses nowhere near the threat it did in 2011.
The MV Abdullah was sailing from Mozambique's capital Maputo to the United Arab Emirates with a cargo of 55,000 tonnes of coal.
