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Pirates capture Italian ship

ROME, April 21 (UPI) -- An Italian merchant ship with a 22-person crew was hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea while en route from Brazil to Iran, officials said.

ANSA said armed men boarded the Rosalia D'Amato freighter Thursday without firing a shot.

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"We spoke with the captain, they're all OK," ministry spokesperson Perseveranza Navigazione told ANSA.

The Italian foreign ministry said it is closely following the incident and has deployed an Italian naval vessel to the area, about 320 miles south of Oman and 330 miles east of the Yemeni island of Socotra.

It is the second Italian ship hijacked this year. On Feb. 8 the oil tanker Savina Caylyn was seized in the Indian Ocean by pirates armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Somali pirates have captured dozens of ships in the past few years, adding billions of dollars to the cost of shipping through the Indian Ocean.

ANSA said pirates now hold about 35 ships and 650 hostages.

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