Somali pirates hijack Taiwanese vessel

NAIROBI - Somali pirates have hijacked a Taiwanese fishing vessel with 26 crewmembers onboard, an official said Saturday.

The owner lost contact with Tai Yuan 227 two days ago.

The vessel was heading for the Maldives.

Crewmembers included Chinese, Kenyan, Taiwanese and Mozambique nationals.

“We received the reports Friday and it seemed the hijack took place two or three days ago,” Andrew Mwangura, East Africa coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Programme, told Xinhua on phone.

Pirate attacks off the Somali coast have continued despite warships deployed by the European Union, Russia, China, South Korea and India to protect the vessels.