A ship owned by China Communications Construction Co. was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden at 12:43 PM (Beijing time) on Wednesday.

Thirty Chinese sailors were aboard the ship, "Zhenhua 4", that was registered in Saint Vincent. The company has lost contacts with the sailors and their conditions were unknown.

The hijack happened just hours after China said it was "seriously considering sending naval ships" to the waters off the Somali coast to fight against rampant piracy.

"China is seriously considering sending naval ships to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Somali coast for escorting operations in the near future," Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said Tuesday in the United Nations.

(Xinhua News Agency December 17, 2008)