Andrew Mwangura, director of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said the vessels were attacked 370 km (230 miles) off the coast of Somalia on Tuesday afternoon.

He said the Mavuno 1 and Mavuno 2, which left Kenya five days ago, were hijacked on their way to Yemen.

A suspected pirate sails off the Somali coast in 2006. Gunmen have seized two South Korean-owned fishing ships and taken their crews hostage in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia.[AFP]

He told Reuters the vessels were registered in Tanzania, and owned by Koreans in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

"Reaching the high seas, a group of about 12 gunmen hijacked the two fishing vessels," Mwangura said.

"Currently they are under captivity, but we don't know their exact position. Crew members on board are about 30 and are composed of Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese and Indians."

Mwangura said he had received information the third ship, a cargo ship called Ibn Younus which escaped, was headed to the United Arab Emirates.

Piracy has been rife off Somalia since the country slid into chaos after warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Many pirates claim to be "coastguards" protecting their waters against illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste.

The attacks have been on the rise since Islamists, who controlled most of south Somalia in the second half of 2006, were ousted in January.

Somali pirates hijack two South Korean vessels

NAIROBI(Xinhua) -- Armed pirates have hijacked two South Korean fishing vessels off the coast of Somalia in the latest surge in piracy in the Horn of African nation, a maritime official confirmed here on Wednesday.

Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the Mombasa-based Seafarers Assistance Program said the Yemen-bound fishing trawlers christened Mavuno I and Mavuno II were hijacked on Tuesday about 210 nautical miles (about 389 km) from the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

The first vessel has 10 crew members while the second has 12 crew members, Mwangura said by telephone from Mombasa.

The incident occurred at position 01 20N/049E. No ransom has been demanded yet, he added.
Mwangura said the Tanzanian-flagged vessels left Kenyan port city of Mombasa last Friday en route to Yemen.

He said the new wave of attacks has badly shaken merchant shipping which relies heavily on key international trade routes that snake down Somalia's coastline, Africa's longest.
Piracy was rampant in Somalia. The latest hijacking was the fifth reported since the interim government and its Ethiopian allies routed Islamists from Mogadishu last month.
At least eight vessels have been hijacked in the past two months. The global maritime body warned that the Horn of African nation's coastline is one of the most dangerous in the world.