Somali pirates have hijacked¹ a Chinese cargo² ship with 25 crew on board, the EU's anti-piracy³ naval⁴ mission says.

欧盟反海盗海军任务组称，索马里海盗劫持了一艘载有25名船员的中国货船。

Gulf⁵ of Aden" width="226" border="0" src="/upimg/091020/4_065816_1.jpg" />
China has a force of three ships patrolling the Gulf of Aden

The De Xin Hai, which was transporting coal, was seized early on Monday in the Indian Ocean, about 1,100km (700 miles) east of the Somali coast.

The hijacking⁶ is believed to have been the first time a ship has been seized between the Seychelles and Maldives.

It is also the first successful attack on a Chinese vessel⁷ since the country deployed⁸ three warships⁹ to the region.

John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Navfor Maritime¹⁰ Patrol, said one of its aircraft had located the vessel after Monday's attack.

"The aircraft spotted¹¹ at least four pirates on the deck and the vessel is towing（拖拽） two skiffs（小划船，小帆船）. It was last reported heading west towards the Somali coast," he said.

Later, one of the pirates, Hassan, told Reuters news agency that the hijacked ship would be sailed to either Haradheere or Hobyo.

The ship, which is owned by the Qingdao Ocean Shipping¹² Company, was on its way from South Africa to India when it was captured.

Monday's hijacking brings to six the total number of vessels¹³ currently in the hands of Somali pirates.

Joel Morgan, the Seychelles' minister of state for piracy, said maritime traffic（海上交通） in the area had dropped by a third recently due to the threat.