Mumbai, Apr 4 (DHNS): A small cargo dhow with an 11-member crew has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The Directorate General of Shipping and National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) have confirmed the incident and said that hopefully the crew members would be released.
"It was hijacked on Sunday and it is off Somalia," Director General of Shipping Malini Shankar said.
"We hope the crew and the vessel would be released soon," NUSI general secretary Abdulgani Serang said.
Reports said most of the crew members of Al Kaushar hail from Mandvi in Mumbai. The details of the cargo are not yet known.
The incident took place on Saturday as the vessel passed through the narrow channel between Yemen's Socotra Island and the Somali coast.