Somali pirates have seized a United Arab Emirates owned and flagged oil tanker with a crew of 16 people, the European Union's naval force for Somalia said on Monday.       

The 4831 dwt, MV Jubba XX was captured on Sunday morning in the northern Indian Ocean while loaded with oil, on a regular route from UAE to the Somali port of Berbera.         

'Little information is available at present but it is reported that nine suspected Somali pirates are on board,' the EU force said in a statement.   

It added that the ship was carrying crew made up of a Sri Lankan, three Bangladeshis, five Indians, four Somalis, a Kenyan, a Sudanese and one crew member from Myanmar.         

One fuel trader in Mogadishu said that vessels carrying commodities to the conflict-torn horn-of-Africa nation, were increasingly being targeted by pirates.         

'We are very concerned the increasing piracy attacks against our ships,' Ahmed Shire, the fuel trader told Reuters by phone.  - Reuters