Somali pirates have attacked a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker off the coast, says the European Union's anti-piracy mission.

The BW Lion managed to escape pirates, who fired automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades at the tanker, said the EU's Atalanta naval mission, which is working in the pirate infested waters off Somalia.

The incident, which left no casualties, took place some 400 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and 1,000 nautical miles off the Somali coast, it said, adding, “This was the longest range of a pirate attack off the Somali coast ever.”

Also on Monday, maritime experts reported that pirates seized on Sunday a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo ship loaded with weapons bound for Somalia in contravention of a UN arms embargo.

Pirate groups have shifted the focus of their attacks to the wider Indian Ocean since other countries started to deploy warships in the Gulf of Aden in a bid to curb piracy.

“There have been 12 pirate events in this area in the last 30 days,” said Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program.

“There is a high probability of attacks in this area for at least the next 24-48 hours. Weather conditions are expected to remain favorable for piracy...through this period,” he added.

Seychelles has voiced concern that the expansion of Somali piracy in its waters could damage its tourism-based economy.

AKM/HGH