Somali pirates on Monday set free the Greek-flagged tanker ship “Maran Centaurus” they had seized in November.
According to the Greek Coast Guard the 28-member crew, nine Greeks and 19 of foreign nationality, are safe and well in health.
The Piraeus-registered vessel had been seized by pirates on November 29, 2009 while sailing 700 miles east of the Somali coast loaded with mazut enroute from Kuwait to the Gulf of Mexico.
The ship’s owner company has paid an unspecified ransom to the pirates and it was now sailing to Durban, South Africa, for refueling continuing its route to Mexico.
International shipping companies and organisations have expressed their worry over the phenomenon of piracy, which have called on the international community to take increased measures off the Somali coasts, while also charging that the modern-day pirates have set up profitable ‘industry’ with the ship piracies.
According to International Maritime Bureau figures, piracy attacks increased by 38.5 percent in 2009, during which 406 vessels were attacked, 50 percent of them were by Somalis. Although official figures of the total ransoms paid are not known, African countries’ officials’ estimate the overall total at 150-200 million US dollars in 2008 alone.