Pirates hijacked an Italian chemical tanker with 18 crew on board off the coast of Oman on Tuesday, the vessel's owner said.

Shipper Marnavi said on its website that the 16,631-tonne tanker Enrico Ievoli had been attacked and seized by pirates in the Arabian Sea during the early hours of Tuesday.

The Naples-based company said the crew included six Italians, five Ukranians and seven Indians. The vessel is carrying a cargo of caustic soda and had left the United Arab Emirates bound for the Mediterranean, Marnavi said.

Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said he was following the matter closely.

The seizure comes days after Somali pirates released the Italian-owned tanker Savina Caylyn, hijacked in February in the Indian Ocean. One of the pirates told Reuters they had received a multi-million dollar ransom. – Reuters