NAIROBI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A ship travelling off the coast of Somalia is suspected of having been hijacked by pirates on Sunday after it deviated from the normal course vessels usually take in these waters, a maritime official said.

"We fear that it has been hijacked," Andrew Mwangura, director of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, told Reuters, adding that he knew nothing else about the ship but its name -- Svitser Kovsakov.

Piracy is common in the waters off Somalia.

"There's no distress call from that ship but it's in a funny position, so we suspect hijackers may be in control of it."

He added that he had contacted naval officers in the nearby Somali port of Baraawe and forwarded the name of the ship to officials in Russia, from where he believed it may have come.

"We are trying to make contact with the owners," he said. (Reporting by Tim Cocks, Editing by Matthew Jones)

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