Beijing denies reports of Somali hijacking of Chinese-flagged commercial ship

Beijing, Feb 6 (ANI): The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center (MSA) has denied reports of a Chinese-flagged commercial ship being hijacked by Somali pirates off the Yemeni coast.

The Xinhua news agency quoted a MSA official as confirming that the organisation had made contacts with the ship and found that the "Tien Hau" ship and its 22-member crew, are safe.

He further said that a suspicious boat had followed the ship for a while, but it was never attacked or hijacked.

Earlier, the Yemeni Interior Ministry had 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 towards the Somali coast.

Rampant piracy has made the Gulf of Aden one of the world's most dangerous waters to travel on. (ANI)