Somali pirates hijack two ships

Mogadishu, 29 Dec-(ANA)-Somali pirates have captured two ships with 45 crew off the East African coast, officials say.

A UK-flagged chemical tanker, the St James Park, was reportedly captured in the Gulf of Aden on Monday while on its way to Thailand from Spain.

Its 26 crew hail from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Georgia, India, Turkey and the Philippines.

The Navios Apollon, a Panamanian-flagged Greek cargo ship with 19 crew, was hijacked north of the Seychelles.

The 50,000-tonne carrier - which had been sailing from the US state of Florida to India - was boarded on Monday by 10 men in speedboats, according to the Greek coastguard.

Pirate attacks have been common off the Somali coast and international navies have been deployed to counter them. (ANA)

FA/ANA/29 December 2009---