Somali pirates have hijacked a Libyan-owned, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)-flagged cargo ship with 17 crew members on board, a regional maritime official confirmed on Thursday.

The MV Rim was captured in the Gulf of Aden off the strategic channel coast of Yemen early Wednesday, said Andrew Mwangura, East Africa coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP).

"We received reports that the MV Rim was hijacked on Wednesday morning in the Gulf of Aden, outside the internationally recommended transit corridor patrolled by the anti-piracy naval coalition. The ship has 17 crew member members," Mombasa-based Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone.

The official said the 4,800-ton MV Rim is owned by White Sea Shipping of Libya and was heading towards the Somali coast when it was captured.

The MV Rim is the third ship seized by Somali pirates this year. Piracy has become rampant off the coast of Africa, especially in the waters near Somalia, which has been without an effective government since 1991.

Ransoms started out in the tens of thousands of dollars and have since climbed into the millions.

The Horn of Africa nation is at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping channels.

The country has been plagued by factional fighting between warlords and hasn't had a functioning central administration since the 1991 ouster of former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.

The Gulf of Aden, off the northern coast of Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world. About 25,000 ships use the channel south of Yemen, between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.