Pirates release Somali aid ship

2005-09-15 23:25

Nairobi - Gunmen have released a ship they hijacked more than two months ago as it transported food aid to Somalis, a Somali government official said on Thursday.

The ship, which was anchored off the coast of the central Somalia town of Haradheere, was released on Wednesday, said Mohamed Ali Americo, coordinator of the Somali transitional government's affairs in Kenya.

"The vessel has now been released and it is now on its way to Elmaan," a port north of the Somali capital Mogadishu, Americo said.

He said the ship had been released with the help of people in Haradheere he did not name, and said the transitional government was also involved in the negotiations.

Rene McGuffin, a spokesperson for the UN World Food Program, said that the vessel will take three to five days to reach Elmaan.

McGuffin said the cargo - 937 tons of rice donated by Japan and Germany for Somalia's 28 000 tsunami victims - will be given to the transitional government in Somalia when the ship arrives in Elmaan.

On June 27, Somali gunmen boarded the MV Semlow, registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and they had kept it near Haradheere ever since.

The ship's captain is Sri Lankan, the engineer is Tanzanian and the remaining eight crew are Kenyan.

In August, the WFP said an agreement had been reached to release the ship, its 10-member crew and the cargo, but the hijackers then reportedly disagreed over whether to see through the release without demanding a ransom.

Following the hijacking, the WFP suspended shipments to Somalia on July 4, but resumed them in August.

Piracy along the Somalia coast is common - several ships a month are attacked or hijacked, with valuables stolen and crews held for ransom. This is the first time the United Nations has reported a ship hijacked by Somali pirates.

Another group of Somali gunmen have been holding 48 Asian fishermen and three vessels near the southern Somali port of Kismayo since August 15.

- AP