The cargo ship 'Delight' was carrying 25 crew members and 36,000 tonnes of wheat when it was attacked. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING - A HONG Kong cargo ship was hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden near the Yemen coast, Chinese state media reported the China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre as saying on Tuesday.
Naval forces track HK-flagged ship off Somalia
HONG KONG - EU and Nato coalition naval forces in the Gulf of Aden are tracking a Hong Kong-flagged ship which was hijacked en route to Iran, an official said on Wednesday.
The bulk carrier Delight was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, the latest raid in the Horn of Africa's perilous waters.
The cargo ship 'Delight' was carrying 25 crew members and 36,000 tonnes of wheat when it was attacked at 2pm as it headed for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, Xinhua quoted the centre as saying.
The 25 crew members are from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Iran and Guyana.
Lloyd's List reported that the ship was a 1986-built, 43,218 dwt vessel.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet in the Gulf confirmed the hijacking.
'We have very little details', Lieutenant Nathan Christensen told AFP in Dubai, adding that the ship was operated by the 'Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines'.
In October, Nato states agreed to join efforts by other parties, including the European Union, in combating piracy off the coast of Somalia.
A supertanker with a US$100 million cargo was seized by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean at the weekend.
The Delight was the third ship sailing under a Hong Kong flag alone to be seized in the area this autumn.
Nearly two decades of conflict in Somalia have left it awash with arms and without a strong central authority to enforce the rule of law. -- AFP, REUTERS
