Somali piracy

The pirates captured the MV Victoria 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of the Yemeni port of Al Mukalla.

The vessel is carrying a cargo of 10,000 tons of rice destined for the Saudi port of Jeddah. While it is owned by a German shipping company, the MV Victoria is registered in Antigua and Barbuda. According to a government spokesman, the crew is Romanian.

The latest kidnapping took place on Tuesday afternoon May 5, according to the European Union's Atalanta operation against piracy.

Ship was part of convoy

The freighter was in a convoy of several ships when it was attacked by eight pirates. A Turkish frigate dispatched a helicopter to the scene but it was too late to prevent the hijacking.

A spokesman for the Atalanta mission told news agencies they believed the vessel is being taken to the Somalian port of Eyl.

The latest incident is the seventh involving a German ship since 2005. Two managed to evade capture and four were hijacked and released after a ransom was paid. Two other German ships are being held by pirates, the MV Hansa Stavanger and the MV Patriot.