Somali pirates free Bermuda flagged ship after ransom

Somali pirates have released the Bermudan-flagged MV Talca, which was seized on March 23 on its way to Iran from Egypt, a maritime official said yesterday.

"We don't know how much ransom was paid but there was a ransom," Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters.

Mwangura said the vessel had been released either late on Monday evening or early yesterday. It was unclear where the vessel was now heading.

Mwangura said he believed the reefer's crew of 23 Sri Lankans, one Filipino and one Syrian were safe as there had been no "quarrels" with the pirates during negotiations.

War and weak government in the Horn of Africa nation have allowed piracy in the Gulf of Aden's busy shipping lanes to flourish, with the sea bandits raking in tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.

Meanwhile, a group of Somali pirates captured by the Russian navy in the Gulf of Aden and then released are likely dead after failing to reach the shore, an AFP report said.

The 10 pirates were captured last week after seizing a Russian oil tanker but were then unexpectedly released, with Russian officials saying there was insufficient legal basis to keep them in detention.

"According to the latest information, the pirates who seized the 'Moscow University' oil tanker failed to reach the shore. Evidently, they have all died," a top Russian defence source was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.