About 20 armed men boarded a cargo ship off the coast of Somalia and took control of it, a maritime security company said on Tuesday.

The ship is the latest target following renewed attacks by Somali pirates in recent months, although maritime security firm Ambrey did not specify that it was Somali pirates who boarded the ship.

Ambre said the ship was a Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier, a type of merchant vessel used to transport large quantities of cargo, and was heading from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates.

The incident occurred about 600 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Agency also reported the boarding incident, saying that the number of armed personnel who boarded the ship was 22.

The British Maritime Trade Organization did not specify that it was Somali pirates who boarded the ship, but cited reports from company security officials that the ship was heading towards the coast of Somalia. It also said the crew was not injured.

Ambrey said there were conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the crew members who boarded the ship.

From approximately 2008 to 2018, Somali pirates caused chaos in important waterways around the world. They remained dormant until piracy began to rise again late last year.

Data from the Horn of Africa Maritime Security Center, the planning and coordination center for the EU’s counter-piracy operation EUNAVFOR, show that since November there have been more than 20 incidents of hijacking or attempted hijacking of ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin.

Maritime sources said pirates may be encouraged by the easing of security measures or may be taking advantage of the chaos caused by attacks on shipping by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group while a war breaks out between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.