NAIROBI (Reuters) - Pirates hijacked a vessel off the coast of Somalia on Tuesday in their latest attack on commercial shipping, a maritime group said.
Sea gangs have run amok on the vital waterways through the Indian Ocean and strategic Gulf of Aden, capturing dozens of ships and making off with millions of dollars in ransoms.
The East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the MV Irene E.M. was captured before dawn. It had no other immediate details. It was believed to be a St. Vincent-flagged vessel.
The latest hijacking came days after U.S. special forces killed three pirates in an assault on a lifeboat holding an American hostage, which some fear may raise the likelihood of violence on the high seas.
Piracy is a lucrative business in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, which has been without a central government since the toppling of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
(Writing by Jack Kimball; Editing by Daniel Wallis)