All 24 crew members aboard a Vietnamese-owned cargo ship returned home safely on the same day after eight months of being detained by Somali pirates.

The crews were received at the Noi Bai airport by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their relatives.

The ship owner, the Hoang Son Company, said the ship was attacked by Somali pirates on January 17 off the coast of Oman, en route from Iran to Xiamen Port in China./.