Bartamaha(BEIJING):- A Singapore-registered ship with 19 Chinese sailors onboard was seized on Monday by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, where Somali pirates have menaced ocean traffic, the Chinese Ministry of Transport.

The container cargo ship Golden Blessing was on its way from Saudi Arabia to India when it was boarded off East Africa, said a brief Chinese-language report on the Ministry website (www.moc.gov.cn).

“Currently, a rescue operation is under way,” said the report.

The report did not specify whether any other people, apart from the 19 Chinese nationals, were on the ship. Nor did it specify any demands from the pirates. Sometimes, the Chinese government also counts Taiwanese as Chinese nationals.

Somali pirates have made millions of dollars in ransoms by hijacking ships off their anarchic country’s coast and have extended their range using mother ships, sometimes seized vessels, from which to launch attacks with smaller craft.

Chinese sailors have been caught before by pirates around the Gulf of Aden. In December, the crew of a Chinese ship hijacked by Somali pirates in mid-October was safely rescued.

China is among the nations participating in a multi-national effort against pirates who use Somalia as a base. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source:- Reuters

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