A European naval force is en route to help a ship that was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, as another vessel narrowly escaped a similar attack, with piracy surging again in the region.

The European Union’s Operation Atalanta said on Friday that its assets were “close” to the Hellas Aphrodite, a Malta-flagged tanker which was seized by pirates the previous day.

The attackers used machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) to board the vessel.

In its statement on Friday, Operation Atalanta said it was “ready to take the appropriate action and to respond respectively to this event”.

The rescue attempt comes amid fears for the safety of the 24 mariners on board the Hellas Aphrodite, which was carrying gasoline from India to South Africa when it came under attack.

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