Ghana nationals on ship seized by pirates

There are two Ghanaian, 23 Russian and two Philippine nationals on board a Thailand-flagged fishing vessel hijacked off the Seychelles, an International Transport Workers' Federation official said on Friday.

The vessel, the Thai Union 3, was hijacked by two pirate skiffs about 370 km (200 miles) north of the Seychelles on Thursday.

A European Union naval task force operating in the region said the vessel appeared to be heading toward Somalia.

Pyotr Osichansky said, citing preliminary reports, that the sailors were not hurt when the vessel was seized.

Osichansky also said that the pirates had so far not demanded a ransom. So far this year, there have been over 150 pirate attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia. The war-ravaged country has been without an effective government since 1991.