Italian Cargo Ship Seized By Pirates in Arabian Sea

Pirates seized an Italian cargo ship with 22 crew members on board, including six Italians, in the Arabian Sea, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Thursday.

The "Rosalia D'Amato" -- a 225-metre (738-foot) vessel -- was on its way from Brazil to Iran. It was attacked by pirates traveling on two boats around 400 miles from the coast of Oman, the report said.

No shots were fired during the assault, which took place at around 0200 GMT.

The Panamx-type ship -- built in 2001 and with a deadweight tonnage of 74,500 tons -- belongs to Perserveranza, based in Naples in southern Italy.

An executive from the company could not immediately be reached for comment.

A 105,000-ton Italian oil tanker with 22 crewmembers onboard was hijacked by pirates in February also in the Indian Ocean.

The pirates in that attack fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades but there were no injuries.