New Delhi, April 05, 2017: An Indian dhow which had 10 crew members from Gujarat while it was en route to Bosaso from Dubai has been hijacked by the pirates off the coast of Somalia as reported by TOI.

The vessel was seized in the proximity of Socotra (Island).

Approving this, an official of the directorate general of shipping told TOI that they have communicated with its Dubai-based owner Feroz Thaim, who has informed the agency that negotiations have begun to get the crew members released.

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"First we contacted one of the relatives in the morning and then we established contact with him (the owner). Thaim claims that the crew members are his relatives and he is trying his best to get them released in the next 3-4 days. Initially, there were reports of 11 crew members. But finally we found that there were 10 members in the vessel," the official said.

Sources keeping track of the developments said it was not certain whether the owner of the dhow is of Indian origin.

"For us, the biggest concern is to get the Indians released quickly. We believe that he is putting his best efforts. We are in constant touch," said the another official.

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It was the second attack in weeks after years of inactivity by pirates. It also said the pirates were taking the dhow and its crew members to Eyl in Puntland as reported by Reuters.

– Prepared by Naina Mishra of Newsgram, Twitter: Nainamishr94