Suspected Somali pirates hijacked a South Korean-operated cargo ship with 21 crew on board in the Indian Ocean yesterday, South Korean and European officials said.

The chemical tanker was carrying eight South Koreans, two Indonesians, and 11 crew members from Myanmar when it was seized in the waters between Oman and India, officials said.

The ship is owned by a Norwegian company and operated by South Korea’s Samho Shipping, based in the southern port city of Busan, according to the EU’s anti-piracy mission. It was 350 nautical miles southeast of the port of Muscat, Oman, when it was taken, the EU NAVFOR mission said in a statement, adding that no further details about the attack were available.

“The current location of the freighter remains unknown,” a South Korean foreign ministry source told AFP.

The vessel, named Samho Jewelry, was sailing from the United Arab Emirates towards Sri Lanka when it was hijacked, Seoul’s Yonhap news agency said.

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