Somali pirates on Wednesday said they released an Italian-owned oil tanker and 22 crew members after they received millions of dollars in a ransom payment, Kenya-based Somalia Report said.
“We have just received the remaining $3 million of the agreed $11.5 million ransom. We have abandoned the ship,” a pirate named Abdiwali told Reuters by telephone. The ship was docked at Haradhere and the ransom money was dropped from an airplane.
The Savina Caylyn oil tanker was captured in February and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti expressed “great satisfaction” for the release, according to a published statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The release of the tanker was attributed to the “intense work” of various Italian government departments and constant pressure on Somali authorities since February. The ministry said it refrained from taking military action at the explicit request of the families as it might have endangered the security and safety of the hostages. No mention of ransom was made in the statement.
Somali pirates have launched more increasingly brazen attacks in 2011 and efforts to stave off piracy in the Indian Ocean and near the Gulf of Aden have not been successful.
In recent months, European countries have made it legal for vessels to be manned with armed guards. The U.K. was the final nation to do so.
