Ship released
August 10, 2009
An Italian tugboat and its crew of 16 have been released after being seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden back in April, the foreign ministry in Rome has announced.
In an interview with Sky Italia TV, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Fratini said he had been given the news by Somalia's prime minister, adding that the ship's release was the result of "exceptional work" on the part of Somali authorities and the Italian intelligence service.
The 75-meter (250-foot) sea-faring tug boat Buccaneer was hijacked by pirates on April 11 and taken to a point close to Las Qoray, a fishing village in a disputed region of northern Somalia. The crew consisted of 10 Italians, five Romanians and one Croatian.
Silvio Bartolotti, general manager of the company that owns the boat, Micoperi Marine Contractors, told the Reuters news agency that the Buccaneer was currently on its way to the Yemeni port of Djibouti. He added that the ship was not freed as a result of military action and that no ransom had been paid.
This latest release of a captured ship in the Gulf of Aden came just one day after the German vessel Hansa Stavanger made it safely into the Port of Mombasa, Kenya, four months after it was hijacked by pirates. It was finally released on Monday after the pirates said they received $2.7 million (1.9 million euros) from Hamburg-based shipping firm Leonhardt & Blumberg.
mrm/Reuters/dpa/AFP
Editor: Chuck Penfold