KALININGRAD, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - The owner of the Thailand-flagged fishing vessel hijacked off the Seychelles said it was ready for negotiations with pirates, a spokesman for a Kaliningrad-based crewing company said on Friday.

The Thai Union 3 with 23 Russians, two Filipinos and two Ghanaians on board was hijacked by two pirate skiffs about 370 km (200 nautical miles) north of the Seychelles on Thursday. Preliminary reports said the sailors were not hurt when the vessel was seized.

The ship was reported to have been heading toward Somalia.

"Representatives of Singapore's Sayan Fishing company, which owns the ship, are planning to start negotiations in the near future," the spokesman said.

He said the vessel was about 740 km (400 nautical miles) from the Somali coast, moving at 8 knots (9 mph).

"Talks may start after the ship arrives in a Somali port," he said, adding the arrival was not expected before November 1.

An International Transport Workers' Federation official said earlier on Friday the pirates had so far not demanded a ransom.

So far this year, there have been over 150 pirate attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia. The war-ravaged country has been without an effective government since 1991.