Mogadishu, December 10: Somali pirates holding a Greek-owned vessel since May said a $US2.5 million ($2.75 million) ransom was finally paid today and the MV Ariana and its crew of 24 Ukrainians would be freed shortly.
“The deal is now complete, the ransom money was delivered to us early this morning and the ship will be released within minutes,” Mohamed Ilkaase, a member of the pirate gang holding the MV Ariana, told AFP by phone from the coastal town of Hobyo.
The Maltese-flagged vessel was seized on May 2 en route from the Middle East to Brazil with 10,000 tonnes of soya beans and was one of the longest-running hostage situations off the coast of Somalia.
“This ship had been in our hands for some time now and there had been disagreements over the ransom in recent weeks,” Ilkaase said. “But finally, we agreed to a ransom of $US2.5 million ($2.75 million) to free the ship.”
Related Coverage
Hijacked super-tanker anchors
NEWS.com.au, 7 days ago
Owner denies ship freed by pirates
NEWS.com.au, 26 Nov 2009
Somali pirates free ship, ransom paid
NEWS.com.au, 18 Jul 2009
Pirates accidentally attack warship
NEWS.com.au, 4 May 2009
Pirates take ships, one attack foiled
NEWS.com.au, 2 May 2009
Abdi Yare, a pirate leader based in the neighbouring pirate lair of Harardhere, confirmed information that the MV Ariana’s release was imminent.
“That ship will be released this morning, the ransom money was paid this morning at 6am (2pm AEDT),” he said.
The ship is owned by the Athens-based All Ocean Shipping company, which is in turn owned by a British conglomerate. Neither immediately confirmed the release of the MV Ariana.
Somali pirates are also currently holding a Greek-flagged vessel, the 330-metre crude carrier Marav Centaurus, which was hijacked on November 29 with a crew of 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and a Romanian.
—