A South Korean-flagged fishing boat was hijacked by a group of unidentified gun men in the international waters off the coast of Somalia on Tuesday, confirmed South Korean Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

The fishing boat is owned by Dongwon Fisheries, a Busan-based company. Busan is the South Korean largest port city located some 450 kilometers south to Seoul.

Twenty-five crewmen, including eight South Koreans, were aboard the 361-ton Dongwon-ho No. 628 when it was captured by the gun men who are believed to be pirates.

Indonesian, Vietnamese and Chinese crew members were also said on the boat at the time. The ship left South Korea in November last year and was scheduled to return at the end of this year.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry and embassy in Kenya both set up task forces to deal with the hijacking.

Meanwhile, Dongwon's office in Busan said it had a phone conversation with the captain and was told that all of the crew members were safe, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

The fishing boat is reportedly anchored off a Somali port.

News reports from Washington said U.S. and Dutch warships in the region tried to intervene but withdrew after the South Korean crewmen were threatened with guns and the ship entered Somali territorial waters.

The USS Roosevelt and Dutch ship HNLMS Zeven Provincien were responding to a radio distress call by the South Korean vessel, which reported it was fired upon some 100 kilometers off the coast of Somalia, the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

Source: Xinhua