In the early hours of 25 December, the MV Thor Nexus was pirated approximately 450 nautical miles North East of the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean. The 20,377 tonne general cargo ship, which is Thai flagged and owned, was on her way to Bangladesh from Jebel Ali in the UAE at the time of the attack. No details of the attack are known at this stage but it is known that the 27 crew on board are all from Thailand. There are now 25 vessels and 601 hostages being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia.