The hijacked Taiwan fishing vessel Xu Fu No1, carrying 26 crew members, was recovered by Chinese navy warships patrolling Somali waters on Tuesday night and taken to Tanzania, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said it has instructed the Chinese embassy in Tanzania to properly accommodate the crew members who were on the vessel and to offer them medical treatment and assistance in returning to their homes.

Xu Fu No1, of whose crew members 13 were from the Chinese mainland, one from Taiwan and 12 from Vietnam, was hijacked by Somali pirates in December 2010. The Chinese government has placed a large priority on responding to the kidnapping.

The foreign ministry worked closely with other ministries such as the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Transport and local governments to rescue the crew members. Local governmental representatives from Anhui and Henan provinces plan to fly to Tanzania.

China has asked Vietnam to prepare to receive the Vietnamese crew members.