A tanker master has been killed in a violent pirate attack off Venezuela.

The captain was shot in the head during the raid on the 2,000-dwt Seaboard I (built 1979) at 1am local time on Thursday off Puerto La Cruz, daily newspaper El Tiempo reported.

The victim was named as Jaime Herrera Orozco, 58, from Colombia.

Broadcaster VPI said the master was killed when resisting the robbery.