Pirates hijack Norwegian tanker off Madagascar: owner

Saturday, March 06, 2010
OSLO: Pirates hijacked on Friday a chemical tanker that was travelling off the coast of Madagascar, the ship's Norwegian owner Broevigtank said.

"The captain of the ship called us early this morning and told us: we have pirates on board. Very quickly afterwards we lost all contact with the boat," company director Svenn Pedersen told media.

The Marshall Island-flagged UBT Ocean had been travelling with 21 crew on board, a news agency said.

The ship was travelling from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to the Tanzanian port city of Dar es Salaam, it said. The vessel had taken a route well south of the zone where pirates operate, Pedersen added.

The tanker now appeared northbound towards Somalia, he added.

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