BEIJING - A Singaporean ship with 19 Chinese crew aboard was hijacked Monday by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the China Marine Rescue Centre said.

The ship, called the "Golden Blessing," was traveling to India from Saudi Arabia when it was hijacked, the centre said on its website, adding that rescue efforts had begun. It gave no further details.

Heavily armed pirates using speedboats operate in the Gulf of Aden where they prey on ships, sometimes holding vessels for weeks before releasing them for large ransoms paid by governments or ship-owners.

In October, a Chinese cargo ship called the Dexinhai with 25 crew members on board was captured by pirates northeast of the Seychelles as it was sailing to India from South Africa.

The vessel was held on the Somali coast and was only rescued at the end of December following the payment of a 3.5-million-dollar ransom.

China has been active in international anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden since the end of 2008, sending at least four flotillas there.

Unofficial figures show that 2009 was the most prolific year yet for Somali pirates, with more than 200 attacks -- including 68 successful hijackings -- and a total in ransoms believed to exceed 50 million dollars.

Earlier this month, a Dutch court sentenced five Somali pirates, the first to stand trial in Europe, to five years in prison for attacking a Dutch Antilles-flagged ship last year.

BDST: 1333 HRS, June 28, 2010
DC