Pirates on Sunday seized a merchant ship off the coast of the Seychelles, a regional maritime body said, and warned other vessels to avoid the area for the next two day as the weather was suitable for more hijackings. Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, said the vessel's details including the number of its crew and nature of its cargo were yet to be determined. "A merchant vessel reported being hijacked ... approximately 250 nautical miles west of the Seychelles," he said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
