Jordanian authorities have lost contact with a Jordanian-flagged ship off Somalia and suspect it was attacked by pirates, an official said.

"It is believed that the ship was subjected to piracy," Jordan's state news agency Petra quoted Minister of Transportation Alaa Batayneh as saying.

He said the ship "Victoria", owned by a United Arab Emirates company, was carrying 4,200 tonnes of sugar from Denmark in humanitarian assistance to the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Authorities lost contact with the ship while it was making its way from India to Mogadishu. The crew of around 12 people included Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi and Tanzanian nationalities, Batayneh said.

Piracy is common in the waters off Somalia.

Under an agreement with Jordan, Denmark provides protection to ships carrying the Jordanian flag in Somali waters.

Last month four countries introduced a draft resolution at the UN Security Council urging maritime powers to fight piracy off Somalia's coast and authorizing them to arrest pirates in Somali waters.

The resolution is aimed at combating a surge in ship hijackings for ransom in the waters off the coast of lawless Somalia that have made them one of the world's most dangerous shipping zones. - Reuters