Pirates who seized a Bangladeshi-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia on Tuesday hold the 23 crew members hostage, the ship-owning company announced.

The M/V Abdullah had departed from Maputo, Mozambique carrying 55,000 tonnes of coal to the United Arab Emirates when it was attacked at noon. “A group of 15-20 Somali pirates seized the ship,” said Mehrul Karim, managing director of KSRM which owns the ship. Bangladeshi media show video of Somali pirates attacking the cargo ship.

The company released an audio message from a crew member, which said gunmen aboard two speedboats approached the cargo ship with gunfire. Currently, Karim assured that the 23 sailors – all Bangladeshi nationals – are in good health.

The overturning of the ship took place approx 550 nautical miles off the Somali coast.

Since December, there have been strong fears of a resurgence of pirate raids off Somalia, as there was concern that they would try to capitalize on the disruption Yemen’s Houthis have caused with attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.