A Danish cargo ship carrying a mainly Russian crew is reported to have been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. It's thought the freighter, with 13 people on board, was attacked as it passed through the Gulf of Aden, known as a pirate hotspot.

Around 60 foreign ships have been hijacked by Somali pirates this year alone. 11 ships and their crews are still being held.

The coastal waters of Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria, Brazil and the China Sea have become infamous for piracy with more than 500 pirate attacks registered annually, according to the German Ship Owners Union.

The Ukrainian vessel Faina – carrying 20 crew members and a military cargo including 33 T-72 tanks – is still being held after being seized more than a month ago.

The Faina crew was originally made up of three Russians, 17 Ukrainians and a Latvian. Its captain Vladimir Kolobkov died of a heart attack soon after the capture.

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