Bartamaha (Nairobi):- Somali pirates have released the Panama-flagged bulk ship MV Voc Daisy along with its crew of 21 from the Philippines.

The Liberian-owned vessel with deadweight of 47,183 metric tons was hijacked approximately 190 miles southeast of the Omani port of Salalah on April 21.

The ship was freed on Saturday after the delivery of a ransom “by a vessel believed to belong to a Greek security company operating in the area with two ships,” said George Shinitis, the CEO of the Greek shipping company JP Samartzis Maritime Enterprises, AFP reported Monday.

The international maritime body Ecoterra International said on Monday that the Somali pirates are holding at least 26 foreign vessels plus one barge and at least 474 seafarers.

However, the European Union Naval Force Somalia says the Somali pirates are currently holding 19 vessels, including the latest South Korean vessel.

The waters off the Indian Ocean coast of Somalia are considered the world’s most dangerous due to persistent piracy attempts in the area.

The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is the quickest route for more than 20,000 vessels traveling from Asia to Europe and the Americas.

However, attacks by the heavily armed Somali pirates in speedboats have prompted some of the world’s largest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and send cargo vessels around southern Africa, causing a hike in shipping costs.

Somalia, located in the strategic Horn of Africa, does not have a functional government, and the Transitional Federal Government does not have much control beyond the capital city Mogadishu.

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Source:- presstv.

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