MOGADISHU, Somalia

Somali pirates hijacked a Panama-flagged cargo ship Thursday that was traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Mogadishu port, according to local media. 

The incident took place off the coast of Somalia’s northeastern Bari administrative region.

"At least seven members of a group of notorious Somali pirates attacked the ship in the middle of last night while the crew was sleeping and hijacked it earlier Thursday," a security official in Somalia's autonomous Puntland region told Anadolu Agency by phone.

But authorities in Bari denied that the ship had been hijacked, saying it had developed mechanical problems and police had confiscated weapons on board.

If confirmed, it would mark the first hijacking incident by Somali pirates in Somali waters in years and the ninth attack in five years as the number of such attacks has fallen dramatically since 2017.