DUBAI: An Iranian bulk carrier of Brazilian sugar was hijacked in the eastern Indian Ocean early on Monday with 23 crew on board, international shipping monitors said.
The Eglantine, which according to Reuters shipping data loaded in Rio de Janeiro in late February, was hijacked off India's southwest coast by suspected Somali pirates, NATO's counter-piracy mission said.
Attacks as far away from Somalia as Monday's hijacking are rare. Although NATO, EU and Iranian naval forces are trying to protect merchant shipping, the Indian Ocean is too big for them to effectively patrol all of it.
The U.S. has identified the vessel as being operated by Iranian government shipping companies blacklisted by Washington. The vessel was carrying over 63,000 tonnes of cargo when it left Brazil, the world's biggest sugar exporter, according to shipping data. |