Berlin  - A freighter, described in one news report as a German-owned container vessel, has been hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast, the German Defence Ministry in Berlin said Sunday.

A ministry spokesman did not specify the ship's origin, the time it was captured, or who had attacked it.

The Spiegel Online website in Germany quoted Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, as saying it was a 20,000-gross-ton vessel. He did not give its name, but said it had a crew of 24.

London  - Pirates hijacked a British luxury yacht off the Seychelles on Wednesday, the tour group that owns the boat reported Thursday.

The ship's passengers had disembarked shortly before the attack, said a spokeswoman for Aquatours on Thursday. However, the seven- person crew of the Indian Ocean Explorer was taken hostage.

The attack occurred near the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean. The site, a UNESCO world heritage site, is a favourite for divers and naturalists.

Hamburg - The 13 crew members of a German gas tanker hijacked in January by pirates in the Gulf of Eden have been released, a Hamburg-based shipping company said Saturday.

The crew members - 12 Filipino and one Indonesian - were all healthy and unharmed, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement confirmed on their website.

Hamburg Abendblatt newspaper reported that a ransom had been paid.

The pirates were originally thought to have demanded 4.7 million euros (6.3 million dollars) to release the vessel, captured January 29.

Athens/London - Pirates have hijacked two chemical tankers off the coast of Somalia over the past two days, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in London on Thursday.

IMB spokesman Cyrus Mody said a Panama-flagged ship, was seized on Wednesday, while a second ship, which is registered in the Bahamas, was taken on Thursday.

Athens/London - Pirates have hijacked two chemical tankers off the coast of Somalia over the past two days, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in London on Thursday.

IMB spokesman Cyrus Mody said a Panama-flagged ship, was seized on Wednesday while a second ship, which is registered in the Bahamas, was taken on Thursday.

Reports in Athens said the 9,000-ton Panama-flagged Nipayia is Greek-owned and had 19 crew members. It was attacked 720 kilometres off Somalia.

London  - Pir