Somali pirates release German-owned ship after more than two months

[News_Editor]

Somali pirates release German-owned ship after more than two months

2011-03-03 22:34:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- Somali pirates on Tuesday released a German-owned vessel carrying eight crew members, the European Union Naval Force - Somalia (EUNAVFOR) confirmed on Thursday.

EU Naval Force spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy said the 5,200 tonne cargo ship MV EMS River was released on Tuesday after it was captured on December 27, 2010, when it was approximately 175 nautical miles (325 kilometers) northeast of the port of Salalah, a city in the southern Omani province of Dhofar. It has a crew of eight, all Filipino except one who is Romanian.

"According to the owner of the vessel, all crew members are well and unharmed," O'Kennedy said. He said the German-owned, Antigua and Barbuda-flagged MV EMS River was on its way to San Nicolas in Greece from Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates at the time of the hijacking.

Somali pirates are currently holding at least 30 vessels and 659 hostages off the coast of Somalia, according to EUNAVFOR. Piracy watchdog Ecoterra, however, says pirates are holding at least 49 vessels and 784 hostages.

Most hijackings usually end without casualties when a ransom has been paid. This, however, often takes many months. The longest current hijacking, according to EUNAVFOR, is of the Panama-flagged MV Iceberg 1 which was hijacked on March 29, 2010 with 24 crew members.

In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships, taking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom. Ships are patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but the anti-piracy force has warned that attacks are likely to continue.

According to a recent study, maritime piracy cost the global economy up to $12 billion last year, with Somalia-based pirates responsible for 95 percent of the costs.

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