KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Pirates have hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew members on board off the Somali coast, Noel Choong, an official with the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau said on Wednesday.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea routes, has surged this year and last weekend pirates captured a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million of oil, the largest seizure ever. (Reporting by Varsha Tickoo; Editing by Jerry Norton)

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