The pirates stood on deck.

The piracy reporting center quickly alerted the international naval force, which dispatched two helicopters and a warship to help deter the hijacking.

After arriving at the scene the helicopters fired at the pirates, forcing them to flee the ship.

There were no injuries during the five-hour ordeal.

It was the latest in a series of attacks by Somali pirates on Chinese vessels. On Tuesday, China said it was considering sending warships to the area to help battle piracy.

The announcement came during a unanimous UN Security Council vote to authorize nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases on the coast of Somalia.