Source: CNA
A Taiwanese fishing vessel has been released 18 months after being hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.
The skipper and 25 crew members are safe and were being escorted to Tanzania by a Chinese military ship on a humanitarian mission along the Somali coast, the ministry said in a statement.
European Union Naval Force Somalia (EUNAVFOR) and other international anti-piracy agencies have been informed of the situation and the EU has sent a patrol aircraft to monitor activity in the region, it said.
The Shiuh Fu No. 1, carrying a Taiwanese skipper, 13 Chinese and 12 Vietnamese crewmen, was held December 2010 while operating in the southwest of the Indian Ocean.
The Foreign Ministry had asked countries in the region to send patrol vessels to rescue the hijacked boat but to no avail. The Kaohsiung-based longliner was likely used by the Somalians as a pirate mother ship.
Earlier this year, the pirates and the owner of the Shiuh Fu No. 1 agreed on a ransom after the boat was found stranded at Hobyo, a harbor city in Somalia.
There were seven vessels and 211 hostages being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia as of July 16, according to EUNAVFOR.