The crew members of the Taiwanese fishing boat Shiuh Fu No 1, which was hijacked by Somali pirates was released yesterday and taken to safety. The boat was attacked 19 months ago in the region of Madagascar island with crew of 13 Chinese and 12 Vietnamese people on board. The crew on board was released, but the fishing boat Shiuh Fu No 1 had run aground and was not able to re-float. The 25 crew members were taken from a Chinese navy ship to Tanzania, from where were transfered in Taiwan. The negotiations with the Shiuh Fu Fishery company, which is operating with the fishing vessel, started a few weeks after the hijacking of Shiuh Fu No 1, but were heavy and both sides did not meet any agreement. Finally on 17th July 2012, the hostages were released by the Somali pirates and taken to safety.
The fishing ship Shiuh Fu No 1 (IMO: 8648078) was built in 1988 by the Taiwanese shipbuilder Tien Erh Shipbuilding. The vessel has length of 71.00 m, beam of 36.00 m and summer draft of 6.00 m. The gross tonnage of the fishing ship is 713 GRT.