Attackers in a skiff targeted the 3,500-dwt Andrea (built1983) on Friday while it was en route to Mogadishu.

“The crew members aboard the vessel are reported to besafe and sound since no one was injured during the gun fight," KenyaSeafarers Union (KSU) secretary general Andrew Mwangura told the Xinhua newsagency.

Security personnel returned gunfire, forcing theassailants to abandon the attack.

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship is listed as owned by Lake Logisticsof Tanzania.

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