Iran vows to rescue hijacked Chinese ship

TEHRAN - The Iranian foreign ministry and navy said Friday that Iran will fully rescue a hijacked Chinese freighter and crew members aboard, Chinese embassy in Tehran told Xinhua.

The Chinese cargo ship, Xianghuamen, belonging to a Nanjing company, was hijacked by unidentified pirates at about 9:30 am local time (0500 GMT) in the Sea of Oman near Iran's southern port of Chabahar.

The Sea of Oman is connected to the Gulf in the west by the Strait of Hormuz, one of the crucial waterways in the world for shipping crude oil.

The cargo ship, setting off from Shanghai, made a stopover in Singapore to unload some goods and then headed for Imam Khomeini port in southwest Iran when it was hijacked.

Iranian navy said it has found the whereabouts of the hijacked ship which is already within the visibility of at least one Iranian warship sent for rescue operations, according to the Chinese embassy.

The Chinese embassy in Tehran has started emergency procedures and contacted related Iranian governmental departments, urging the Iranian side to take all necessary measures and spare no efforts to rescue the crew members and ensure their safety.

Yu Hongyang, Chinese ambassador to Iran, demanded Iran to put the safety of the hijacked crew members in the first place, ensure their safety and stage rescue operations.

The Chinese central government, state council and foreign ministry are very concerned about the incident, urging Iran to go all out to ensure the safety of the hostages, Yu said.

Five days ago, Iranian navy successfully rescued an Iranian- owned cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates and arrested 16 pirates, Iranian foreign ministry said.