Somali pirates seize Chinese ship 索马里海盗劫持中国船舶

（单词翻译）

Somali pirates have hijacked¹（劫持） a Chinese cargo² ship with 25 crew on board, the EU's anti-piracy³ naval⁴ mission says.

The De Xin Hai, which was transporting coal, was seized early on Monday in the Indian Ocean, about 1,100km (700 miles) east of the Somali coast.

The hijacking⁵ is believed to have been the first time a ship has been seized between the Seychelles（塞舌尔群岛） and Maldives（马尔代夫）.

It is also the first successful attack on a Chinese vessel⁶ since the country deployed⁷ three warships⁸ to the region.

John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU Navfor Maritime⁹ Patrol, said one of its aircraft had located the vessel after Monday's attack.

"The aircraft spotted¹⁰ at least four pirates（海盗） on the deck and the vessel is towing two skiffs. It was last reported heading west towards the Somali coast," he said.

Later, one of the pirates, Hassan, told Reuters news agency that the hijacked ship would be sailed to either Haradheere or Hobyo.

The ship, which is owned by the Qingdao Ocean Shipping¹¹ Company, was on its way from South Africa to India when it was captured.

Monday's hijacking brings to six the total number of vessels¹² currently in the hands of Somali pirates.

Joel Morgan, the Seychelles' minister of state for piracy, said maritime traffic in the area had dropped by a third recently due to the threat. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)