An Italian flag-bearing tanker ship “Enrico Ievoli” with seven Indians onboard was hijacked near Bandar Imam Khomeini Port in Iran on Tuesday.
In a release issued late on Tuesday, Directorate-General of Shipping said the vessel, which was on a voyage to Yummurtalik in Turkey, was hijacked by Somalian pirates on Tuesday early morning.
The ship with a cargo of caustic soda is now reportedly on its way to the Somalian coast.
However, there are no reports of any physical harm to the crew members.
According to the release, apart from the seven Indians, the vessel has six Italians and five Ukranians as crew members aboard.
The latest hijacking incident has taken the total number of merchant vessels captured by Somalian pirates to 43.
Published 27 December 2011, 07:18 IST