Somali pirates hijack ship with 18 Filipinos on board

Somali pirates have hijacked a Marshall-flagged chemical tanker carrying 18 Filipino sailors in the southern Red Sea,the EU anti-piracy mission on Monday said.

The MT Motivator reported coming under small arms fire from pirates yesterday in the northern Bab-Al-Mandeb area,the strait between the Arabian peninsula and the Horn of Africa,the EU NAVFOR mission said in a statement.

“After notification of this attack,attempts were made to make contact with the Motivator but to no avail. The hijack was confirmed early on 5 July,” the statement said.