Somali pirates have hijacked a Maltese-flagged ship with 19 crew on board, 17 of them Turks and the other two Ukrainian citizens, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

All communications with the Maltese-flagged ship, Frigia, have been cut off after the ship was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, the report said.

The ship "Frigia" was operated by Karya, a Turkish maritime company, according to the report.

Karya executives are trying to get in touch with their ship via a satellite phone, said the report.