Somali pirates have seized on Tuesday a fishing boat and its four crew members off Yemen's southern coast as it was heading to the Mukalla port, local media reported.The sources said the pirates took the hijacked ship out 120 marine miles east of Socotra Island.
They did not head to the Somali coast, according to the same sources, meaning it was likely the pirates would use the boat to attack merchant ships passing by the Socotra archipelago.
International navies patrolling the Indian Ocean say that pirates have been widening their attack areas further out at sea by hijacking smaller vessels to use as mother ships.
Hijacking offers a lucrative alternative for many in impoverished Somalia, which is battling an Islamist insurgency.
Heavily armed Somali pirates have stepped up attacks in recent years, making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.