BEIJING - Nineteen Chinese sailors hijacked by Somali pirates for 131 days returned to China safe and sound on Wednesday.

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An operator surnamed Pan with the Dingheng Ship Industry Corporation told China Daily that the sailors arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday afternoon and are expected to arrive at the company on Thursday.

"I really want to thank my country," said Tang Liyuan, a junior student working as an intern on the ship.

"My thanks must also go to our captain."

Tang, who was on his first voyage, was almost killed in an altercation with the pirates but his captain saved him.

Most of the sailors' families had arrived in Shanghai awaiting their return, according to Xinhua News Agancy.

The Singapore-flagged cargo ship MV Golden Blessing, rented by Shanghai-based Dingheng Ship Industry Corporation, was released early on Saturday with all its 19 Chinese crew on board.

The 14,445-ton cargo ship, carrying a load of glycol ethylene en route from Saudi Arabia to India was seized on June 28 approximately 110 km off the northern Somali coast.

After being released by the pirates on Saturday, the sailors took a break in Oman before flying back to Shanghai on Wednesday. The company gave each of them $1,000 in pocket money.

Their salaries and bonuses during the days of the hijack would be paid as normal as promised by the company. The salary of the captain is $9,000 a month.

Pirates are holding nearly 30 ships with a total of nearly 400 hostages, according to the European Union Naval Force Somalia.

The Gulf of Aden, a body of water between Soma-lia and Yemen, is the main sea route between Europe and Asia.

Xinhua News Agency contributed to this story.

China Daily