Ship hijacking \u2018likely to be the first of a series\u2019published at 12:22 GMT<\/p>\n
12:22 GMT<\/p>\n
Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify journalist<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve been speaking to experts to find out more details about the reported hijacking of a tanker ship off the Somali coast.<\/p>\n
Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd\u2019s List, says there are 24 crew are onboard the Hellas Aphrodite. Most are from the Philippines, five are Greek and one is from Montenegro. The ship had no armed guards on board.<\/p>\n
The ship was reportedly attacked by people using a small boat, with a larger fishing vessel spotted a few miles away. It\u2019s believed this larger craft is acting as a \u201cmothership\u201d for the smaller one.<\/p>\n
Meade says the use of a mothership to launch smaller boats to carry out attacks demonstrates \u201cstrategic intent\u201d because it allows pirates to operate further offshore. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is likely to be the first of a series of attacks,\u201d he says. \u201cIf they get a successful ransom from this, then we will inevitably see more. It\u2019s a funding operation at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear who the attackers are, or their demands.<\/p>\n