Somali pirates on Wednesday attacked and...

He earlier said the incident had occurred around 8.00 a.m. Moscow time [04:00 GMT], when the tanker was on en route from the Red Sea to China. The pirates attacked the Russian vessel 350 miles east of the Gulf of Aden. There are 23 people on board, all of them Russian citizens.

He added that a Russian warship, the large anti-submarine ship Marshal Shaposhnikov, was on its way to help the tanker but would be unable to reach it until Wednesday night, most likely "between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Thursday."

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has briefed President Dmitry Medvedev on the seizure of the tanker.

A source in the coalition force staff in the region said any action against the pirates would be taken after a thorough assessment of the situation.

Novoship, the company that owns the Russian tanker, has lost contact with the vessel, the company"s press service said.

A company spokesperson said she could neither confirm nor deny that the

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