WASHINGTON -- A Korean captain and four crew members of a fishing boat have been kidnapped in waters off Ghana, in west Africa, a report said Thursday.

The five crew members of the Atlantic Princess, a tuna boat, were kidnapped on Thursday (local time), according to the report from Dryad Global, a maritime security and intelligence provider.

"The vessel is understood to have been approached by one speedboat with 8 pirates onboard," it said, adding the incident reportedly took place 65 nautical miles from Tema, Ghana.

"The vessel was reportedly fired upon prior to being boarded by 5 armed men. The vessel is understood to have been Hijacked and sailed south to a distance of 100nm before pirates departed the vessel," it added.

The report said those kidnapped included the captain, who is Korean, along with three Chinese and one Russian crew members.

It was not immediately clear whether the captain is South Korean. A call to the South Korean embassy in Ghana to confirm the incident went unanswered.

"This latest attack ends a significant hiatus of activity within the Gulf of Guinea," the report said. "Thus far within 2021 there have been 56 personnel kidnapped across 5 incidents from vessels operating within the Gulf of Guinea." (Yonhap)