China today said its ship reported to be hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Yemen is safe and is being escorted by Chinese anti-piracy navy fleet.
Yemeni Interior Ministry had earlier said the ship was hijacked by pirates some 20 kilometres off the Yemeni island of Al-Tair off the city port of al-Hudaida, and was heading to the Somali coast.
But, the China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre (MSA) said that the Chinese-flagged ship has never been hijacked, and is now sailing safely with the escort of the Chinese anti-piracy navy fleet.
Both the "Tien Hau" ship, which was registered in Hong Kong, and its 22-member crew, are safe, an MSA official told the official Xinhua news agency.
The centre contacted the ship to make sure it was safe, he said.
The ship had been followed by a suspicious boat for a while, but it was never attacked or hijacked, the official said.
Like several other countries including India, China has deployed a fleet of naval ships in the area to protect its ships from pirate attacks in the Gulf of Eden.
Source: PTI
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