Dhaka, March 12 -- Pirates have seized control of the Bangladeshi-flagged ship MV Abdullah in the Indian Ocean, taking its 23 sailors hostage.

The vessel, owned by KSRM Group's SR Shipping, was transporting coal from the African country of Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates when it was attacked.

The vessel is the latest to be targeted following a resurgence of attacks by Somali pirates in recent months although the maritime security firm, Ambrey, did not specify that the 20 armed people were Somali pirates who boarded the ship, Reuters report.

The incident happened about 600 nautical miles east of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, it said.

A message was sent from the ship around 1:30pm on Tuesday Bangladesh time, said SR Shipping CEO M...