All 28 Chinese crew members aboard a China-linked cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates were rescued on Friday.

The cargo ship, Xianghuamen, was hijacked by Somali pirates at about 8:40 a.m. local time on Friday in the Sea of Oman near Iran's southern port of Chabahar.

The Sea of Oman is one of the crucial waterways in the world for shipping crude oil.

Xianghuamen, belongs to Nanjing Ocean Shipping company in eastern China, setting off from Shanghai, made a stopover in Singapore to unload some goods and then headed for Imam Khomeini port in southwestern Iran when it was hijacked.

Nine Somali pirates climbed onto the cargo ship by their own ladders and took the Chinese crew hostage.

After the hijacking, the Chinese embassy in Tehran 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.

Two Iranian naval warships participating in the rescue operation followed the vessel and ordered the pirates to surrender. The pirates later threw their weapons into the sea and surrendered to the Iranian navy.

The hijacked cargo ship's engine was damaged and is in repair. Later the ship will head for the Iranian port of Gask, 70 miles (about 112 km) away from where the hijacking occurred and 200 miles (about 322 km) away from the vessel's destination.

Ambassador Yu Hongyang will travel to Bandar Abbas to visit the rescued Chinese crew on Saturday on behalf of the Chinese government.

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