MOGADISHU (SD) -Somali pirates have seized a cargo ship named Basilisk (General Cargo Ship, IMO 9539377).

The ship, which was flying the Liberian flag, was en route to the port of Khalifa in Abu Dhabi, UAE, having departed from Porto Grande, a port in Cape Verde, West Africa.

At the time of the attack, the ship was approximately 400 nautical miles (742 km) southwest of the town of Marka in the Lower Shabelle region.

Reportedly, 17 crew members are on board and remain trapped in the ship’s safe room, while the pirates have taken control of the ship’s operations room and disabled all communications.

Built in 2013, the vessel is a general multipurpose dry cargo ship managed by MINSHIP Shipmanagement of Germany.