Pirates Take Control of Chinese Fishing Vessel Off Somalia

A Chinese fishing vessel is under the control of alleged pirates in Somalia's waters in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, the European Union's anti-piracy naval force said on Thursday.

The anti-piracy force said the vessel with up to 18 crew members on board had been taken over by pirates, some armed with AK-47s and machine guns. It classified the incident as a robbery at sea.

No crew members were injured in the incident, the anti-piracy force added.

Somali pirates caused havoc in the waters off the Horn of Africa nation's long coastline between 2008 and 2018. They had been dormant until late last year when pirate activity started to pick up again.

(Reuters - Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Ammu Kannampilly)