Pole aboard tanker hijacked by Somali pirates

WARSAW, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Polish chief engineer is aboard a British-flagged chemical tanker hijacked by Somali pirates on Monday, Foreign Ministry deputy press spokesman Grzegorz Jopkiewicz said on Tuesday.

Jopkiewicz told TVN 24 television that the British ship owner had already phoned the Pole's family.

The U.K.-flagged St James Park tanker was the first merchant vessel to be hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in nearly six months. The ship issued a distress message on Monday, seeking help after it was attacked.

The tanker set sail from Spain and was headed for Thailand. Its crew comes also from the Philippines, Russia, Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, India and Turkey.

An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern coast. The Gulf of Aden has the highest risk of piracy in the world, with more than 10 ships and 200 crew members still being held by Somali pirates.