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An oil tanker with 21 Indian crew members on board was hijacked off the coast of Oman,government shipping agency Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) said on Saturday.
The DGS did not say who the hijackers were but it is suspected that Somali pirates were involved.
The vessel MV Fairchem Bogey was hijacked while it was at the Salalah anchorage,the DGS said in its statement. It added that the vessel was managed by Anglo-Eastern Ship Management (I),Mumbai and that the Directorate had informed the Indian Navy,the British Maritime Organisation and other concerned agencies.
Reuters quoted a Salalah-based shipping source as saying that the vessel was being loaded with methanol when it was seized.
The ports operator,APM Terminals,however,said pirates boarded the vessel while it was two miles off the coast of Oman,awaiting a berth,and commandeered it towards Somalia.
Tom Boyd,director of external communications at APM Terminals,said there were no reported injuries or deaths among the crew. APM Terminals operates Salalah port for the government. The Omani authorities are in discussion with the pirates. At 8.28 am the vessel sailed in the direction of Somalia, Boyd said.
