Pirates hijack ship near India with 31 crew aboard

The EU's anti-piracy force says pirates have struck again in the Indian Ocean by commandeering a Panamanian-flagged vessel carrying vegetable oil.

The EU's anti-piracy force says pirates have struck again in the Indian Ocean by commandeering a Panamanian-flagged vessel carrying vegetable oil. The European Union anti-piracy naval force says the MV Hannibal II was hijacked early on Thursday while traveling from Malaysia to the Suez Canal. The ship was hijacked almost 900 nautical miles east of the Horn of Africa, which is closer to India than Somalia. Most of ship's 31 crew are from Tunisia.

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The hijacking comes the same day that a group of 17 Chinese sailors returned to China four months after being hijacked and kept as hostages in Somalia. The pirates fed the sailors only one meal a day of boiled potatoes.

Pirate attacks have picked up again off East Africa with now that seasonal monsoons have ended.