'Six Indians aboard hijacked Panamanian ship'

Six Indian crew members are on board a Panamanian cargo ship, which was hijacked by Somali pirates from the Gulf of Aden earlier this month, a top Indian maritime authority said in Mumbai.

Six Indian crew members are on board a Panamanian cargo ship which was hijacked by Somali pirates from the Gulf of Aden earlier this month, a top Indian maritime authority said in Mumbai on Monday.

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The ship, "MV Suez", was hijacked by the pirates early Aug 2, according to the directorate general of shipping (DGS) in Mumbai.

The distressed ship called for help, but the pirates had already taken control of the vessel and were on board by the time a naval helicopter arrived.

The ship, carrying an unspecified quantity of cement, was on a voyage from Karachi (Pakistan) to Massawa port in Eritrea, on the east African coast.

Details of the incident, including the welfare of the 22 crew members including six Indians, are not known, the ship's managers, Red Sea Navigation Company, of Suez in Egypt, informed the DGS.