<br/>'Nineteen crew members have been freed from a ship captured by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Maritime officials received an alert yesterday that pirates had boarded the timber-carrying ship about 120 kms from the coast of Yemen. Ships from three countries diverted to its path. A Chinese team boarded the vessel early today.<br/><br/>The first hijacking by Somali pirates in five years occurred last month, but this is the second raid since then. A spokesman for UK Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) in Dubai, who co-ordinate safe passage for merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, said all on board the hijacked ship were safe and heading to an unnamed destination under escort. The UKMTO said the crew was from Syria, but a statement by India's Ministry of Defence said they were from the Philippines.<br/>