A U.S. Navy spokesman says Somali pirates have hijacked a German-owned ship with its 11 Romanian crew members in the Gulf of Aden.

Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet, says the ship was seized Tuesday afternoon in an area 75 miles south of Yemen.

The new seizure brings to 19 the number of ships being held by Somali pirates.

Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program said Wednesday the crew are unhurt.

Piracy has become perhaps the biggest money-maker in Somalia because the pirates almost always get paid.

Their wealth is all the more shocking in light of Somalia's deep poverty. There has been no effective central government in nearly 20 years, plunging the arid country into chaos.

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