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Saudi ship owner paid pirates $2.6 mn ransom

Agence France-PresseMay 14, 2013 14:15
The Saudi owner of an Algerian cargo ship whose crew were held by Somali pirates for 10 months admitted paying $2.6 million to free them in November 2011, an Algerian paper reported Tuesday. The MV Blida, carrying 17 Algerians, six Ukrainians, two Filipinos, one Jordanian and one Indonesian, was captured by a gang of heavily armed pirates on January 1, 2011, on its way from Oman to Tanzania. Two of hostages were released for health reasons in October that year, with the rest freed the following month when a bag full of cash was parachuted from a plane.

Pirates free Danish ship crew held two years in Somalia

Agence France-PresseApril 30, 2013 12:56
Pirates have freed six sailors who were abducted from a Danish cargo ship off Oman and held for more than two years in Somalia, after receiving a ransom, the crew's employer said Tuesday. Shipping company Shipcraft said it had paid the hijackers "considerable millions, substantially more than previous kidnappings where Danish citizens have been involved". It declined to reveal the amount "considering possible future kidnapping situations".

Pirates kidnap four crew from ship off Equatorial Guinea

April 25, 2013 19:15
LONDON/ABUJA (Reuters) - Pirates kidnapped four crew members when they attacked a container ship off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, the vessel's management company said on Thursday. Hamburg-based shipping firm Leonhardt and Blumberg said the four hostages - two Ukrainians, a Russian and one from the Pacific island nation of Kiribati - were taken when the Liberia-flagged Hansa Marburg was attacked on Tuesday by armed men.

Pirates pose complex, increasing threat to West African shipping

April 15, 2013 13:16
By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) - Armed hijackers pose a growing threat off Nigeria's oil-rich coast, where commercial ships do not enjoy the protection of naval security that has dramatically reduced Somali piracy on the other side of Africa. The Gulf of Guinea region, which includes Nigeria, is an increasingly important source of oil, cocoa and metals for world markets, although international navies are not actively engaged in counter-piracy missions in the region at present.

Egypt releases weapons ship after investigation - sources

April 7, 2013 20:41
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities released a ship loaded with heavy weapons and its crew three days after they were seized for entering Egyptian territorial waters in the Red Sea, two security sources told Reuters on Sunday. The Togolese-flagged ship named COMR, with a crew of 14, was escorted into the port of Safaga, 569 km (356 miles) south of Cairo, on Wednesday after straying into Egyptian waters off the Sinai Peninsula. Authorities found weapons and ammunition, and detained the crew members for investigation.

Somali pirates release Greek-owned tanker: company

March 12, 2013 06:30
A Greek-owned tanker captured by Somali pirates in May has been released and all crew members are safe, its operating company said on Tuesday. "We are very pleased to report that the MT SMYRNI has been released after ten months in the captivity of Somali pirates," the Athens-based Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd said in a statement posted on its website. "All of the crew are safe and well and the vessel is proceeding to a port of refuge," the company added, thanking all those involved for their support and stressing it would make no further statements.

Anger in India at Italy refusal to return marines

March 12, 2013 06:30
Anger erupted in India Tuesday over Italy's refusal to return two marines facing trial for the killing of two fishermen, with politicians saying Rome is treating India like a "banana republic". The marines are accused of shooting dead the Indian fishermen off the country's southwestern coast in February last year, when their fishing boat came close to the Italian oil tanker they were guarding. The marines said that they mistook the fishermen near the port of Kochi for pirates.

Somali pirates release 26 sailors: Philippines

March 12, 2013 05:15
Somali pirates have released a Greek-owned oil tanker and its 26 sailors, including 14 Filipinos, who were seized in the Arabian Sea 10 months ago, the Philippine government said on Tuesday. The Liberian-flagged MT Smyrni as well as its crew were released on Saturday, and are en route to Oman, the foreign affairs department said in a statement. "All of the crew members are in good physical condition," the statement said.

UPDATE 1-Somali pirates free Greek oil tanker seized 10 months ago

March 11, 2013 14:00
(Adds comment from pirates) ATHENS/BOSASSO, Somalia, March 11 (Reuters) - Somali pirates have released a Greek-owned oil tanker and its 26 crew members who were seized 10 months ago in the Arabian Sea, the vessel's owner, Dynacom Tankers Management, said on Monday. The MT Smyrni, which was carrying one million barrels of crude, was hijacked in May last year off the Gulf Arab state of Oman. Pirates said they released the vessel last week after receiving ransom.

Somali pirates free Greek oil tanker seized last yr-shipowner

March 11, 2013 12:45
ATHENS, March 11 (Reuters) - Somali pirates released a Greek-owned crude oil tanker and its 26 crew members who were seized 10 months ago in the Arabian Sea, the vessel's owner Dynacom Tankers Management said on Monday. The MT Smyrni, which was carrying one million barrels of oil, was hijacked in May last year off Oman.
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