Somali pirates have hijacked a Panama-flagged MV Suez cargo ship with 23 crew on board. The European Union naval force (EUNAVFOR) said the ship, which was carrying a cement consignment, came under small arms fire early this morning while sailing in a recommended shipping lane in the Gulf of Aden. Its crew are from Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India. Athough they called for help, the pirates were on board the 17,300-tonne freighter by the time a naval helicopter from EUNAVFOR arrived. According to the Piracy Reporting Center of the International Maritime Bureau, last year Somali pirates carried out a record numebr of more than 200 hijackings.