[Iran Press TV Latest] A Panamanian-flagged merchant vessel and its 24 multinational crew members have been hijacked off Somalia's Gulf of Aden. In a statement, NATO's counter piracy operation, Ocean Shield, said that the 4,500-tonne Iceberg 1, owned by Iceberg International Ltd, was sailing towards the Somali coast on Monday when pirates hijacked it.
"They took hostage 24 crew and are now sailing the vessel towards the Somali coast," it added, after receiving a report from the ship's owners.
The crew members were from Ghana, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sudan and Yemen, said a spokesman for the European Union's Navfor naval force operating in the area.
The ship was carrying "general mechanical equipment" and it was heading for the UAE, Navfor said.
Somali pirates continue to pose threats for the region's shipping by hijacking vessels and releasing them only after receiving huge ransoms.