Muhyadin Ahmed Roble, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya Photo: Sheekh Aduun
Somali pirates have hijacked a Greek-flagged oil tanker early on Sunday, Greece's coastguard announced on Monday.
The Maran Centaurus tanker, from Kuwait to the Gulf of Mexico was seized 700 miles off the coast of Somalia, near the Seychelles.
The 28 crew members on board the tanker comprise 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and one Romanian. The tanker was carrying 300,000-tonnes of goods.
A coastguard official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters "about nine armed pirates attacked the tanker and seized it".
Somali bandits have increased their attacks on vessels off East Africa. They have made millions of dollars from ransom in the illegal business.
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