SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Armed gunmen hijacked a Japanese freighter and its 23-member crew off the coast of Somalia, South Korean officials said Sunday. Somalia, which has had no functioning government since 1991, is the world's top piracy hotspot. Also a Russian patrol ship was able to thwart a hijack attempt on a Saudi Arabian vessel, a spokesman said Sunday. The 20,000-ton Japanese cargo ship was seized 96 miles (154 km) east of the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, the South Korean news agency Yonhap said, quoting the country's foreign ministry. Among the crew members, five are South Korean and 18 are from the Philippines, the ministry said.
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Japanese ship carrying 23 crew, including five South Koreans and 18 Filipinos
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Ship carrying chemicals seized Saturday 96 miles east of Somalia's Aden port
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Condition of crew not immediately known; Somalia is the world's top piracy hotspot
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S. Korea considering sending navy ships to waters off Somalia to fight piracy
The spokesman said the @placeholder ship was escorting a convoy when a Saudi ship in the convoy was attacked by gunmen on speed boats.