Somali pirates hijacked a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo ship loaded with weapons on Sunday, regional maritime official said on Monday. Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East Africa Seafarers' Assistance Program said the ship was going to the Horn of Africa nation in contravention of a 16-year UN arms embargo.

Mwangura said: "The cargo ship is a regular carrier of weapons to Somalia and has been acting against the UN arms embargo.”

The ship was reported to be carrying weapons, including light ammunitions, rockets and missiles. Mwangura stated that the ship is now detained near the northern Somali town of Garacad.

AfricaNews reporter said warships from western counties are patrolling the area to secure the ship and arrest the pirates but the Somali pirates are moving their operations far into the Indian Ocean.