Pirates off Somalia's coast have hijacked a chemical tanker with a North Korean crew, European naval forces reported.

The MV Theresa VIII, owned by the Virgin Islands and operated from Singapore, was seized in the Indian Ocean on Monday, according to a statement from the European Union Naval Force Somalia, whose charge includes combating maritime piracy.

Theresa VIII, carrying a crew of 28 North Koreans, was heading for Mombasa, Kenya, but was hijacked in the south Somali Basin, about 180 miles northwest of the Seychelles, the statement said.