Somali pirates hijacked a British-flagged ship carrying cars off the Somali coast late on Friday, the Bulgarian foreign ministry said.

The Ancient Glory was seized about 600 miles east of the Somali coast before it joined a convoy heading for the Gulf of Aden, Dragovest Goranov, spokesman for the ministry said.

An official at the Bulgarian office of the British company Zodiac which manages the 45,000 tonne ship said there were 25 people on board, including eight Bulgarians. Other crew members include Romanians, Indians and Ukrainians.

'One of the sailors managed to call the British management company and say the ship was hijacked, but that the crew were in good health and were not injured,' Prodan Radanov said. – Reuters