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A Panama-flagged ship with 20 crew members, all Filipinos, have been hijacked by Somali pirates, the European Union anti-piracy force confirmed on Monday.

The EU Naval Force spokesman Lt. Col Per Klingvall said owners of the MV Izumi reported on Sunday that they had received an automatically released distress signal indicating that the vessel was likely to be under pirate attack.

Klingvall said the Danish warship HDMS Esbern Snare of the NATO counter-piracy force was dispatched to intercept and investigate.

"In the early hours of October 11 the captain of the vessel made contact with the Danish warship, stating that pirates were in charge of the MV Izumi," he said. (PNA/Xinhua)