The?crew members of a Chinese merchant vessel that fought off pirates in Somali waters last month sailed into their home port of Shanghai yesterday and prepared for a heroes' welcome.

Each of the Zhenhua 4's 30 crewmen will receive US$10,000 for their bravery in an award ceremony today organized by Zhenhua Port Machinery Corp, which owns the ship.

The ship arrived at the shipyard on Changxing Island at 9am yesterday.

"We barely knew anything about Somalia before we fought off the pirates there," said Zhen Yutong, the ship's chief mate. "We only did what sailors always should do, to be afraid of nothing on the sea."

The ship ran into trouble in pirate-plagued waters off the Somali coast on December 17 when nine attackers armed with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns swarmed on board.

The crewmen locked themselves in their living area and held off the pirates using fire hydrants and firebombs, according to the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center.

The seamen fought for four hours and succeeded in forcing the pirates off the ship, with the help of a helicopter from a Malaysian patrol force.

"This is an experience that I will remember all my life," said the ship's captain, Peng Weiyuan.

"We are proud to have defeated the pirates, and they will remember that Chinese sailors are brave in facing up to unjust actions," he said.

(Shanghai Daily January 23, 2009)