Somali pirates.The pirates hijacked the tanker 20 nautical miles off the port city of Aden while en route to Britannia, it said.
The website quoted sources at the Aden Coastguard as saying that the tanker sent a distress signal and coastguards rushed to its site and clashed with the pirates.
"Yemeni coastguards could force the Somali pirates to abandon the tanker and run away," the sources said, adding that a blaze broke out onboard the tanker during the festivities.
When the fire broke out the coastguards transported the crew of 22 members to onboard a U.S. warship and then the fire was brought under control, they said.