London, Jan 7 (IANS) Somali pirates have released a Pakistani fishing vessel they used to hijack a British-owned ship in the Indian Ocean, according to reports here.
The Shahbaig - also known as the Shazaib - was used as a ‘mother ship’ from which smaller boats were launched to capture the British-owned car-transport ship, Asian Glory.

The BBC said members of the European Union’s naval force Jan 2 boarded the Pakistani vessel, which had been abandoned 1,600 km north of Seychelles.

The Asian Glory is still being held along with at least 11 other ships.

The EU Navfor protection force said in a statement: “The Shahbaig was boarded by crew from [France's] FS Surcouf and found all crew members to be in good health except for one member whose leg was broken.”

Pirates had seized the Shahbaig and its crew of 29 Dec 2, 2009 near Socotra, a small archipelago belonging to Yemen off the Horn of Africa.