Somali pirates have hijacked a Malaysian-owned cargo vessel and its 23-strong crew 900 miles off Somalia, the European Union's anti-piracy task force said on Monday.

EU Navfor said the MV Albedo was seized in the early hours of Nov. 26 as it headed for the Kenyan port city of Mombasa from Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.

The crew are from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Iran, the task force said in an online statement.

Somali pirates are making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships, including tankers and dry bulkers, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, despite the efforts of foreign navies to clamp down on such attacks. – Reuters