The Singaporean ship hijacked by pirates on October 15 is captained by an Indian man.

Raghubir Singh from Dharamshala is the captain of Kota-Wazar, hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean.

"The Singapore flagged and owned boxship Kota Wazar was seized around 300 nautical miles north the Seychelles," said Andrew Mwangura, who heads the Kenyan chapter of East African Seafarers Assistance Programme.

Other maritime sources in the region confirmed the information. A maritime source in the area, who did not wish to be identified, said that the attack took place early Thursday, 24 nautical miles from the site of recent attacks on French tuna-fishing boats.

He also said that the attack was only 180 nautical miles from the Seychelles, inside the archipelago's exclusive
economic zone.

The maritime security centre of the European Union, which has an anti-piracy naval force patrolling waters
affected by Somali piracy, also confirmed the hijacking.

"During the early morning of October 15, 2009, a Singapore-flagged container ship Kota Wazar was hijacked in
the Indian Ocean by pirates some 300 nautical miles north of the Seychelles," a statement said.

"An EU NAVFOR maritime patrol aircraft was tasked to investigate the situation," it said. (With AFP inputs)