Pirates seized control of a French cruise ship Friday off the coast of Somalia, France's Foreign Ministry said.
| Just where I'd want to go on a cruise of a lifetime, the coast of Somalia. What was the next port of call, Mog? Aden? Bandar Abbas? |
A ministry official said details about the attack were scarce, and it was not clear how many crew members were on board the ship or if there were any passengers. The ship is in the high seas in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.
The official declined to identify the vessel or its owner. The ministry has set up a crisis center to deal with the situation, said the official.
Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off the Somali coast last year. The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy, said in its annual report earlier this year that global pirate attacks rose by 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years. |