Hong Kong grain ship hijacked

A Hong Kong cargo ship loaded with wheat bound for Iran has been hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the latest daring raid in the increasingly lawless seas near Somalia.

The Delight, with 25 crew members on board, was captured around 0600 GMT (7pm NZT) off the Yemen coast, the official Xinhua agency said, citing China's Maritime Search and Rescue Centre.

An official at the centre confirmed a ship had been seized but declined to give further details, saying the issue was being handled by Hong Kong.

Xinhua did not say if the pirates were Somali, but the raid came just days after a supertanker with a $100 million cargo was seized in the Indian Ocean and anchored off a Somali port.

Using larger "mother ships" to increase their reach, the heavily armed pirates usually pull up on either side of a target in speedboats and board, firing guns or even rocket-propelled grenades just over the bridge if the captain tries to escape.

Most of the region's piracy problems come from groups based in Somalia, which has suffered nearly two decades of conflict that have left it awash with arms and without a strong central authority to enforce the rule of law.

The Hong Kong ship was carrying 36,000 tonnes of wheat to Iran's Bandar Abbas port, Xinhua said.

None of the crew members are from Hong Kong or mainland China, Xinhua added, without giving further details.

- Reuters