A Polish seaman is among 16 crew members on board a vessel flying under the Kenyan flag hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, a regional maritime official has said.

It is feared that the vessel will be used by pirates as a base to facilitate further attacks.

The ship's crew has 16 crew on board, including 10 Kenyans, a Spaniard, a Pole, two Senegalese and one person from the Cape Verde islands.

It is not entirely clear when the ship was hijacked. 

Piotr Paszkowski from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Polish Radio Wednesday morning that they are in contact with both family members of the Polish crew member, as well as the Spanish company in Madrid, which has sent an envoy to Kenya to negotiate the ship’s release.

Somali pirates received up to 60 million dollars in ransom money. Currently they are holding seven ships with nearly 150 people on board. (pg)

Source: PAP