Two tankers have been captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia. One of the ships is confirmed to have five Polish citizens on board.

Earlier in the afternoon the Polish ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated that there were ten men on board. The pirates gained control of the vessels on Thursday morning 300 miles off the coast of Somalia.

Piotr Paszkowski, press officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Polish Radio that one of the ships has a crew of 27 on board from various countries. He has added that for the time being it is not known what the pirates’ demands are.

The captured vessel is a Norwegian tanker registered in the Bahamas. The second ship captured today by Somali pirates was Greek, holding a crew of 19 on board. Last year alone Somali pirates captured over 130 vessels in what have become some of the world’s most dangerous waters. (jb)