Pirates seize Greek oil tanker

Pirates seize Greek oil tanker

Armed men hijack vessel carrying $200m worth of crude oil off the coast of Oman, taking 25 crew members captive.
Last Modified: 09 Feb 2011 13:56 GMT

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Somali pirates have seized an oil tanker carrying about $200m worth of crude oil off the coast of Oman, the vessel's Greek operator has said.

The Athens-based shipping company Enesel said on Wednesday that the Mount Irene oil tanker was attacked by the group that took the 25 crew members captive.

Authorities have not been able to communicate with the ship, which has seven Greek nationals, 17 Filipinos and one Georgian onboard.

The vessel was on its way from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Mexico when it was attacked 650km south-east of Muscat, the Omani capital. Somali pirate gangs are known to operate in those waters.

The incident comes a day after pirates took control of an Italian oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, some 1300km from Somalia's coast.

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