Pirates seized an Italian-flagged vessel with a crew of 23 in the Gulf of Guinea on Sunday, Italian media reported. The Rbd Anema e Core cargo ship with 20 Filipino seamen, two Italians and a Romanian captain onboard sent a distress call when three pirates boarded the ship approximately 23 nautical miles (about 42 kilometers) south of Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin. Two weeks ago Italian government allowed commercial ships, travelling through dangerous waters, to hire security guards or soldiers. There is no information whether the seized vessel had armed guards onboard. Over the last six months pirates have seized several Italian ships. In February, a large Italian oil tanker with a crew of five Italians and 17 Indians was attacked near the Yemeni island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean. On April 21 Somali pirates captured an Italian Iran-bound cargo vessel with 21 crew members onboard.