German-owned vessel released from pirate control released
April 14th, 2011 - 11:13 pm ICT by BNO NewsSEYCHELLES (BNO NEWS) — Somali pirates on Wednesday released a German-owned vessel which had been held under pirate control for 81 days, the European Union Naval Force - Somalia (EUNAVFOR) informed on Thursday.
EU Naval Force spokesman Paddy O’Kennedy said the general cargo vessel MV Beluga Nomination was pirated on January 22, about 390 nautical miles (722 kilometers) north of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
The Antigua & Barbudan flagged ship is believed to be making for safe port. The vessel was on route to Port Victoria in the Seychelles when it was attacked by a skiff with an unknown number of pirates.
O’Kennedy did not disclose the condition of the mixed crew of 12 individuals. The crew members were all from Poland, the Philippines, Russia, and Ukraine. In addition, it was not informed if a ransom was paid to the pirates.
In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships. Most hijackings usually end without casualties when a ransom has been paid. This, however, often takes many months and pirates receive hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom.
According to a recent study, maritime piracy cost the global economy up to $12 billion last year, with Somalia-based pirates responsible for 95 percent of the costs.
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Tags: cargo vessel, casualties, crew members, european union, general cargo, global economy, indian ocean, kilometers, maritime piracy, mv beluga, nautical miles, nomination, pirate, port victoria, ransom, seychelles, skiff, somali pirates, somalia, unknown number