A Panamanian-flagged cargo ship that has been under pirate control in Somalia for more than six months is burning.

Andrew Mwangura, a local maritime reporter, told VOA the MV Orna caught fire Wednesday evening. The ship, which is owned by the United Arab Emirates, was in the Indian Ocean just north of the pirate stronghold of Harardhere when the fire began.

Pirates had earlier called to tell VOA about the fire. The cause of the flames is not yet known.

Mwangura says the pirates are evacuating the 19 crew members who were seized along with the ship last December.

The cargo vessel is just one of dozens of boats Somali pirates have hijacked in recent years, a practice that has earned them hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom.

Last week, pirates were reportedly paid $12 million for the release of a Kuwaiti oil tanker that had been held since late March.