The Emirati-owned and Jordanian-flagged ship, carrying 4,200 tons of sugar to Somalia that was donated by Denmark, was off the coast of Somalia -- well known for its pirate attacks by now, with an attack on a French yacht just last month -- when contact was lost Saturday morning. More:

"The vessel, Victoria, was seized about 40 nautical miles off the capital Mogadishu on Saturday (local time) Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers' Assistance Program said.

Mr Mwangura says there were 'at least 12 crew members on the ship when it was hijacked.'

...More than 25 ships were seized in Somali coastal waters last year despite United States navy patrols, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

France and the United States have presented a text before the UN Security Council seeking to authorise states to send warships into Somalia's territorial waters to combat piracy."

The U.N. Chronicle reported last year that nearly 80 percent of World Food Programme assistance to war-torn Somalia must arrive by sea, but the out-of-control piracy cuts the number of ships willing to take the food there in half.

(2006 photo of pirates off the Somali coast courtesy of U.S. Navy)