Somali pirates have seized a cargo ship off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation in the latest of a spate of such incidents that have prompted awful maritime warnings, officials said Friday.

Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers' Assistance Program from Kenya 's port of Mombasa said the Maltese-registered ship, Pagania, was attacked late on Wednesday as it sailed from South Africa to Europe with a cargo of iron ore.

The hijackers are reportedly demanding a 700,000 US dollars ransom for the release of the ship and its crew, all believed to be Ukrainian.

"They (pirates) hijacked the ship on Wednesday afternoon and are demanding 700,000 dollars before they can release it," Mwanguara said by telephone.

He said the vessel was seized some 167 km off the Somali coast.

International maritime officials say Somali waters are some of the world's most dangerous.

Last week, Transitional Federal Government of Somalia urged neighboring countries to send warships to patrol the nation's waters after a fourth cargo vessel delivering food aid was seized by pirates.

Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi said his interim government, which has yet to take control of the lawless country, does not have the resources to protect shipping along Somalia's coast.

He said he would call for a meeting of every country that has an interest in securing Somalia's shipping lanes to organize an interim force to protect Somalia's waters.

The appeal came after two hijacked UN-chartered food aid vessels, one of which had been seized in June, were released but as other ships and crews remain in captivity.

More than 20 ships have been seized or attacked in the area since March.

The IMB - which records such attacks - has recently advised ships "to keep as far away as possible from the Somali coast."

Source: Xinhua