**A chemical tanker with a crew of 28 North Koreans has been hijacked by pirates near Somalia, the European Union’s naval force says.**The MV Theresa VIII, a Singaporean-operated tanker, was taken in the south Somali Basin, 180 nautical miles north west of the Seychelles.
The vessel had been heading for the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, but was diverted north, the naval force said.
The EU naval force (Navfor) operates in the region to protect shipping.
Somali pirates, using “mother ships” to launch their small-boat attacks on vessels, have extended their range to an area off the Seychelles in recent months in order to evade the navies patrolling the Horn of Africa.
The MV Theresa VIII, the owner of which is based in the Virgin Islands, is a tanker of 22,294 deadweight tonnes, Navfor said.