Somali pirates release Indian ship with 21 crew

MUMBAI - The all-Indian crew of a chemical oil tanker that was hijacked by Somali pirates in August last year has been released, alongwith the ship, Indian authorities said.

The vessel, MT Fairchem Bogey, is proceeding to a safe port, the Directorate General of Shipping, which regulates shipping activity, said in a statement late on Saturday. It had a crew of 21.

The ship, managed by Mumbai-based Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, was hijacked on August 20 while it was anchored in Salalah port, Oman.

"We cannot at the moment disclose the port where the ship is headed or any details on the terms of release," a source from Anglo-Eastern Shipping told Reuters on Sunday. "It will be led by an Indian naval ship which is headed towards their direction, it is not there yet."

"The crew will be back home by the end of the coming week," the company source added.

Pirates operating from the Somali coast have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransoms from hijacking ships, and continue to pose a threat to shipping despite international efforts to stop them. (Reporting by Nandita Bose; editing by Matthias Williams and Sanjeev Miglani)

Source: Reuters