S. Korean ship hijacked off Somalia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) &#8211 A maritime official says pirates have hijacked a South Korean bulk carrier with 21-member crew off Somalia’s coast.

Noel Choong of the piracy watchdog International Maritime Bureau says the ship was seized in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday.

Choong says it was the second attack on a vessel near Somalia on Wednesday. He says pirates armed with machine guns chased a Greek bulk carrier but failed to hijack it after an international coalition naval force intervened.

The South Korean ship is the 11th to be hijacked since July 20 off Somalia, which is the world’s top piracy hotspot.

The surge in attacks has prompted the U.S. Naval Central Command to establish a security corridor in the gulf patrolled by an international coalition of warships.