20091130

ATHENS (Reuters) - Somali pirates have seized a Greek-flagged oil tanker near the Seychelles, more than 700 miles off the coast of Somalia, Greece's coastguard said on Monday.

The 300,294-dwt Maran Centaurus was sailing from Kuwait to the Gulf of Mexico with a crew of 28 when it was seized early on Sunday.

"About nine armed pirates attacked the tanker and seized it, 700 miles off the Somali coast, near the Seychelles," said a coastguard official who requested anonymity.

The official said there were nine Greeks, two Ukrainians, one Romanian and 16 Filipinos on board the tanker.

Maran Tankers Management, the Greek managing company, said the ship was now heading towards the Somali coast. "We only know that the crew is well," a company official who did not want to be identified told Reuters.

A Greek navy frigate, taking part in the EU naval operation against piracy in the region, was shadowing the tanker, the Greek Defence Ministry said.

Heavily armed gangs from Somalia have made tens of millions of dollars in ransoms by seizing ships using the strategic shipping lanes that link Europe to Asia.