Pirates seize Kenyan-flagged fishing ship

NAIROBI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates have hijacked a Kenyan-flagged fishing vessel with 16 crew members onboard in the Indian Ocean off Somalia, a regional maritime official said on Tuesday.

Andrew Mwangura, the East Africa Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP) said the Sakoba was taken last week but he received information on Tuesday.

"The fishing vessel was hijacked last week but we received information on Tuesday. It's not clear when the vessel was seized but it seemed it was in the Kenyan waters," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone from Mombasa.

He said the vessel has 10 Kenyans, a Spanish captain, a Polish chief engineer, two Senegalese, a Namibian and a citizen of Cape Verde. Reports said the ship was last registered in Spain three years ago.

However, a statement from the European Union said the Kenyan- flagged fishing vessel was hijacked 400 nautical miles (740 km) east of Dar Es Salam.

"The Sakoba is heading towards (the Somali coastal village of) Haradere and EU Navfor is continuing to monitor the situation," the statement said.

Hijackings off East Africa are a cause of growing international concern, spurring a number of international navies to patrol the pirate-wracked Gulf of Aden.

Hundreds of other people remain hostage aboard hijacked ships in the Gulf of Aden and its surrounding seas.

An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern coast.