Somali pirates Thursday, March 16, released previously seized oil tanker and eight of its crew members, citizens of Sri Lanka. About it reports Reuters with reference to the statements of the Somali security services and the pirates.
According to the Director of marine police region of Puntland Abdirahman Mohamud Hassan, the security forces moved into place after the shooting began negotiations, and eventually the pirates left without receiving a ransom.
Pirates themselves, in turn, confirmed that did not hold the ship and took the ransom.
Somali pirates seized Tuesday, March 14, merchant ship after a five year hiatus. 13 Aris tanker, sailing under the flag of Sri Lanka yesterday evening said that he was on a parallel course followed by two small boats. The next morning he gave the alarm, and then it was disabled beacon tracking system.
The ship changed course and headed for the Somali coast, heading for the port of Kalula known as one of the pirate nests.
Aris 13 — tanker with a load capacity of 1.8 tons. The company owner Panamanian Armi Shipping, operator — Aurora Ship Management, United Arab Emirates.
Previously, the pirates of Somalia, where a civil war nearly paralyzed shipping in the Gulf of Aden. In 2011 year, there were 237 attacks on merchant ships, losses from their actions amounted to more than seven billion dollars. After international forces began constant patrols in the area, the attack stopped.