Ship with 29 Chinese hijacked on Arabian Sea

BEIJING - A Panama-flagged freighter with 29 Chinese sailors on board has been hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea, the China Marine Rescue Centre (CMRC) said Saturday.

CMRC received a report from the Ningbo Hongyuan Ship Management Co. Ltd at 11.26 p.m. (1526 GMT) Friday, saying the company’s sailors on board the ‘Yuan Xiang’ were hijacked by pirates, Xinhua reported.

The pirates told the company that the ship is being taken to Somalia.

CMRC has so far failed to get in touch with the hijacked ship and the fate of the sailors remained unclear.

The Arabian Sea, where the hijacking occurred, is not protected by the Chinese Navy fleet, CMRC said.