Pirates seized the Bosphorus Prodigy ship belonging to the Isko Marine Shipping Company (Turkey), which was flying the flag of Antigua and whose crew includes eight Ukrainian and three Turkish citizens, near the eastern coast of Africa in the Gulf of Aden on Dec. 16.

The press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry announced this in a statement.

The ministry has instructed the Ukrainian embassy in Turkey and the Ukrainian general consulate in Istanbul (Turkey) to take urgent measures to establish contacts with the owners of the ship and facilitate early release of the ship's crew.

The Ukrainian embassy in Kenya and the ministry's consular affairs department are monitoring the situation.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Somali pirates captured the Lehmann Timber ship with four Ukrainian citizens on board in the Gulf of Aden on May 28. The pirates freed the ship on July 8 after a ransom was paid.

In November, Ukraine held talks with the European Union on the possibility of participating in the European Union's anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden.