Pirates hijacked an Indonesian-flag cargo ship with 20 men on board off the coast of Somalia on Thursday, and within a day they used it in a thwarted attack on another ship.

    The Sinar Kudus, owned by Jakarta-based shipping group PT Samudera Indonesia, was sailing from Indonesia to Rotterdam with some 8,300 tons of nickel ore when it was seized about 320 nautical miles northeast of Socotra, an island in the Gulf of Aden.

    The 8,911-deadweight-ton Sinar Kudus, reportedly built in 1999, is a multipurpose general cargo vessel.

    “The government would establish active cooperation with all appropriate agencies to secure the safe release of our sailors aboard the hijacked ship. No contact has been established with pirates regarding the ship hijacking,” an Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry official said in Jakarta Friday.

    The European Union Naval Force, Navfor, said Friday the Sinar Kudus was later used by pirates as a mother ship to attack the Liberian-registered bulk carrier MV Emperor.

    “A skiff with five pirates on board was launched from the Sinar Kudus and attacked the Emperor, but was repelled by the armed force from the merchant vessel,” Navfor said.

(Source:http://en.portnews.ru)