Somali Pirates Free German-Owned Ship Carrying 11 Romanian Sailors

Somali pirates on Saturday released a German-owned vessel and its crew, which also includes eleven Romanian sailors, after they received a $1.8 million ransom, pirate sources and officials said Saturday.

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"We have taken a $1.8 million ransom and released the German ship," one of the pirates said from a lair in the town of Eyl on the Somali coast and local Somali leaders confirmed the information.

A pirate negotiator said a tugboat brought the ransom to the brigands. Residents said pirates fired wildly into the air to celebrate the hand-over of the money.

According to Germany’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, the eleven Romanian sailors are abroad the MV Victoria, an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo vessel hijacked by eight pirates in the Gulf of Aden on May 5 while on its way to the port of Jeddah.

Cornel Panchici, manager of Constanta-based crewing firm “Kru Maritime”, which the sailors contracted for their voyage, said all eleven Romanian sailors are safe and sound, but declined to provide further details on the Victoria's release.

In early May this year, Adrian Mihalcioiu, leader of the Free Union of Navigators, said the cargo ship loaded with 10,000 tons of rice had left India and was heading in a convoy towards Saudi Arabia when it was attacked by pirates on the security corridor.

Mihalcioiu also said eight of the eleven Romanian sailors are from Romanian city of Constanta, while the rest are from counties Prahova, Dambovita and Galati.

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