Somali pirates release ship after $1m ransom

Somali pirates have released a chemical tanker, the Stolt Valor, after they received a $1.1 million (Dh4m) ransom, a regional maritime official said yesterday.

Two other ships could be released before November 25 because negotiations between the owners and pirates had been going well, said Andrew Mwangura, Director of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme that monitors piracy. The pirates, who have made shipping routes off Somalia among the most dangerous in the world, had seized another ship, a Japanese cargo vessel, he said.

"It [the Stolt Valor] was released last night and after release, another ship was taken, a Japanese one with South Korean connections," Mwangura said, adding that a $1.1m ransom had been paid for the Stolt Valor.

"Stolt Valor is among three ships that are to be released this month," he added, naming them as the MV Genius and the MV Action but without giving further details.

The pirates off the dangerous Somali coast have taken three ships within the past week alone; another chemical tanker chartered by the shipping group Stolt-Nielsen, a Chinese fishing vessel and a Turkish tanker.

The Japanese cargo ship hijacked late on Saturday was carrying 23 sailors including five South Koreans, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry.

The 20,000-tonne ship is owned by a Japanese shipping company and registered in Panama was seized 154km east of Somalia's port city of Aden.

The Foreign Ministry said it will co-operate with Japan's government and the shipping company to win the release of the sailors. The company's name was not immediately available.

Somalia, which has had no functioning government since 1991, is the world's top piracy hotspot. It is located along the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and is one of the world's busiest waterways with 20,000 ships passing through it each year.

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