Somali pirates have released a Jordanian-flagged cargo ship hijacked last week off the lawless coast of the Horn of Africa nation, a shipping agent said on Friday.
The Victoria, owned by a United Arab Emirates company, was carrying 4 200 tonnes of sugar in humanitarian aid sent from Denmark to the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
”The ship has been released. All the pirates have left the ship, the crew is safe and healthy. The ship is sailing to Mogadishu to discharge its cargo,” the ship’s local agent, Mohamed Ahmed Roble, said.
After 17 years of civil conflict without effective central government, pirates have turned Somalia’s waters into some of the most dangerous in the world.
The Victoria’s crew of 12 people included Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Tanzanians. — Reuters