Rescued fishing vessel heads to Tanzania

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The rescued Taiwan fishing vessel Xufu 1 with 26 crew members was being transferred to Tanzania by Chinese navy warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia on Wednesday, said the Chinese embassy in Tanzania.

The embassy said it was preparing to receive the crew members. It had worked with the Tanzanian government to obtain a voyage permit in Tanzanian waters, reported China Central Television.

The crew members will be examined by a Chinese medical team immediately upon their arrival, and after a brief rest period, they will be flown home, said CCTV.

XuFu 1, with 13 crew members from the Chinese mainland, one from Taiwan and 12 from Vietnam, was hijacked by Somali pirates in December 2010 off the Madagascar coast and taken to Somalia.

The Foreign Ministry worked closely with other ministries, including the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Transport and local governments to rescue the fishermen.

Local government representatives from Anhui and Henan provinces will fly to Tanzania later, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The embassy also contacted the Vietnamese government to discuss transferring the Vietnam fishermen, said CCTV.

The Somali piracy crisis is costing world trade billions of dollars a year, according to The Associated Press.

Chinese ships have undertaken anti-piracy operations off Somalia since late 2008. In early 2010, Beijing agreed to join a multi-nation effort to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden and nearby stretches of the Indian Ocean.

Questions:

1. How many crew members were on Xufu 1?

2. How many were from the Chinese mainland?

3. When did Chinese ships undertake anti-piracy operations?

Answers:

1. 26.

2. 13.

3. Late 2008.

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.