SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says one of its container ships may have been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says Hanjin Shipping Co. lost contact with the ship Thursday morning, and a South Korean warship is on its way to the area.

The ministry declined to comment further, saying it is still investigating the incident.

Repeated calls to Hanjin have gone unanswered, but South Korea's Yonhap News says the 75,000-ton Hanjin Tianjin has 14 South Koreans and six Indonesians aboard.

Yonhap says Hanjin Shipping lost communication with the ship shortly it transmitted a distress call in pirate-infested waters about 250 miles (400 kilometers) east of Yemen's Socotra island. (AP)