British military reports pirate attack off Somalia

Several people boarded and took control of a ship during a suspected pirate attack in the Indian Ocean, nearly 1,100 km east of Somalia's coastal capital, Mogadishu, the British army reported on Tuesday.

The ship was boarded by several people on board two boats, "one large and the other small" , said a statement from the British army's maritime trade operation. “Unauthorized persons now have control of the vessel ,” the statement said. He does not give any further details.

British maritime security company Ambrey said 20 armed attackers took control of the ship as it traveled from Mozambique 's capital Maputo to Hamriya in the United Arab Emirates.

Piracy that once raged off the coast of Somalia has declined after peaking in 2011, but concerns about further attacks have increased in recent months .

In December, at least two incidents were reported. One involved a commercial vessel seized by heavily armed people near the town of Eyl, off the coast of Somalia. The other concerns a Maltese-flagged merchant vessel that was hijacked in the Arabian Sea and moved to the same area off the coast of Somalia.

The waters off Somalia saw a spike in piracy in 2011, when the UN said more than 160 attacks were recorded. Incidents subsequently declined significantly, largely due to the presence of the U.S. Navy and its allies in international waters.