Somali pirates hijacked a Greek freighter and its crew of 21 Thursday in the Indian Ocean, reported European Union officials. The freighter, with its crew of Ukrainians and Filipinos, was on its way to Zanzibar when it was diverted to Somalia, said a spokesman from the EU's Atalanta mission. The ship was about 300 miles south- east of the Kenyan harbour city of Mombasa.

The MV Delvina is owned by a Greek firm, but sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands.

The hijacking comes on the heels of the abduction of a Spanish trawler and, separately, a British couple seized at the end of October who are believed to be held hostage in Somalia.