Hong Kong/ New Delhi, Feb 6. (AP & PTI): The crew of a missing Indian oil tanker have regained control of the ship from pirates who had hijacked it off Benin's coast, the vessel's management company said Tuesday.

The Marine Express tanker was "the subject of a pirate attack and seizure in the Gulf of Guinea" on February 1, Anglo-Eastern of Hong Kong said on social media.

The ship lost contact until its captain and crew took back control Monday evening Benin time, which was early Tuesday in Hong Kong, the company said.

All 22 Indian crew were safe and its cargo of 13,500 tonnes of gasoline remained on board.

"A complete investigation will be carried out into the hijacking," the company said. It praised the crew and their families "for their courage and fortitude in dealing with this difficult situation," but provided few other details.

It was not immediately clear if any ransom was paid to secure the release of the vessel and the cargo.

The Indian government had confirmed that the ship, owned by a Mumbai company, was missing and it had sought help from the Benin and Nigerian navies to find it.

The Marine Express was anchored in Cotonou in the Gulf of Guinea in Benin when it was taken over by pirates on February 1. The pirates switched off all communication systems on the vessel before making it sail.

On Tuesday, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed that the ship had been released.

”I am happy to inform that Merchant Ship Marine Express with 22 Indian nationals on board has been released,” Swaraj tweeted.

Swaraj thanked the governments of Nigeria and Benin for their help. She had spoken to her Nigerian counterpart on Monday to seek assistance in tracing the missing oil tanker.

Ship hijackings and kidnappings of crew are common in the region, with hostages often released unharmed after a ransom is paid. Bandits usually target oil tankers and sell the crude.

Concerns about piracy off Africa's coasts have largely shifted to the Gulf of Guinea following international efforts in recent years to reduce the threat of off Somalia's coast.

The Marine Express went missing less than a month after another vessel, MT Barret, disappeared off the coast of Benin in January, and was later confirmed to have been hijacked.

The 22 crew of MT Barret, most of whom were Indians, were reportedly released after a ransom was paid.