Somali pirates free Danish ship

2007-08-23 11:09

Nairobi - Somali pirates released a Danish ship late on Wednesday after a ransom of $1.5m was paid to them, said the head of a maritime organisation on Thursday.

The Danica White cargo ship was hijacked on June 04 and its five Danish crew members taken hostage by armed pirates who had plagued Somalia's anarchic shores.

Andrew Mwangura, head of the Seafarers' Assistance Programme based on Kenya's coast, said: "According to our sources, the owner paid $1.5m, which is what the pirates had asked for."

Once it was released the ship was sent to neighbouring Djibouti, where the crew would get medical check-ups before flying back to Denmark.

Mwangura said they were in "good health and good spirits and happy to be going back home".

The ship was carrying mostly building materials from Dubai to Kenya's port city Mombasa when the pirates stopped it.

Somalia's waters were notoriously dangerous and infested with gunmen who hijacked ships and their crews and demanded ransom for the captives.

Sapa-dpa

- SAPA