An oil tanker with 23 Indian sailors aboard was today hijacked by pirates off the shores of Nigeria. This is the third such attack in over two weeks in the Gulf of Guinea.

International Maritime Bureau (IMB) officials said, the Singapore-owned vessel, MT Abu Dhabi Star, which was carrying fuel, was sailing towards the open sea when it was hijacked.

The oil tanker was operated by the Dubai-based company, Pioneer Ship Management Services. The company's spokesperson, Pat Adamson told PTI that all the crew on the tanker are Indians. Earlier IMB said, the Nigerian authorities had been notified of the attack and were taking action. It said the sailors had locked themselves in a safe room to avoid harm by the attackers who are suspected to be oil thieves from Nigeria's Niger Delta region.