Somali pirates have released a chemical tanker they hijacked a year ago with more than 20 crew on board after receiving a ransom, the pirates and a minister from the semi-autonomous Puntland region said today.
The pirates said they had abandoned the UAE-owned MT Royal Grace, which was seized off Oman last March. The European Union's anti-piracy taskforce said one of its warships patrolling off Somalia had provided food, water and medical assistance to the ship's crew.
"We got off the vessel late last night. We happily divided the cash among ourselves," a pirate who identified himself only as Ismail told Reuters by telephone.
Civil war after the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 left Somalia without effective central government and full of weapons. The turmoil opened the doors for piracy to flourish in the Gulf of Aden and deeper into the Indian Ocean.
Said Mohamed Rage, minister of ports and anti-piracy for Puntland - a region in northeast Somalia - confirmed the ransom and the release of the Panama-registered vessel.
It was not clear what cargo the tanker was carrying or who paid to free the vessel, but typically ship owners and the owners of cargo pay ransoms through...
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