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Pirates seize German ship near Somalia

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-25 19:05

NAIROBI, Kenya -- A US Navy spokesman says a German-owned ship has been hijacked in the pirate-infested waters between Somalia and Yemen.

Somali pirates flee in a boat. Pirates attacked a cargo ship believed to be German owned or flagged and captured its 17-strong crew overnight in the Gulf of Aden. [Agencies] More photos: Somali teen pirate arrives in NYC

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US Navy 5th Fleet spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen says pirates seized the cargo ship early Saturday in the Gulf of Aden about 150 nautical miles (280 kilometers) southeast of the coastal Yemeni city of Muqalla.

The ship, the Motor Vessel Patriot, is Maltese flagged.

Christensen could not give the number or nationalities of the crew nor say what the ship's cargo is.

Pirates have hijacked more than 100 ships off the Somali coast over the last year, including one in a dramatic standoff between pirates and the US Navy earlier this month. The Gulf of Aden is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.