(CNN) -- The hijacking of a container ship in the Indian Ocean Friday afternoon is evidence of a "constantly expanding area of pirate activity" off the Africa coast, military officials said.
At least five pirates, using two small boats and a rocket-propelled grenade, boarded the MV Panama, a Liberian-flagged vessel operated by a U.S. company, according to a statement by the European Union Naval Force Somalia.
The attack happened about 80 nautical miles east of the Tanzanian-Mozambique border, the statement said.
"This extreme southerly attack in the Somali Basin is a further example of the constantly expanding area of pirate activity," it said.
Pirate attacks have become a frequent hazard for sailors off Somalia, which has had no effective central government since 1991.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/af...ex.html?hpt=T2
Note: December 10, 2010 Updated 1904 GMT (0304 HKT)