ATHENS: Greek maritime authorities Sunday denied that a Greek cargo ship had been seized off Yemen, saying the vessel was attacked by pirates but escaped.

Earlier, a Kenyan maritime watchdog reported that the Panama-flagged Red Sea Spirit had been hijacked late Thursday in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen.

But Greek officials said they had spoken to the company which manages the ship, Sekur Holding Inc., and were told it had managed to outrun its attackers..

They also said the attack did not happen on Thursday, but on Monday.

"The cargo ship was attacked on (Monday) November 16 by two speedboats but, by manoeuvring, escaped from the pirates," the authorities said.

It was continuing its journey on Sunday with 22 Philippine sailors aboard, maritime authorities said.

The ship had left the Gulf of Aden en route to Karachi in Pakistan with a cargo of cement, they said.

Attacks in waters north of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden have become rarer since foreign navies started patrols in the area last year.

Pirate groups have since shifted their focus to the wider Indian Ocean, a huge area much more difficult to patrol, and now venture as far as the Seychelles and beyond.