A Liberian-flagged ship was released by Somali pirates Tuesday after they were paid $7 million in ransom, Reuters reported.
The MV PANAMA, which is registered in Liberia, had 23 crewmembers from Burma aboard when it was hijacked nearly 10 months ago as it traveled from Tanzania to Mozambique.
“We received the agreed ransom of $7 million early in the morning after long negotiations. Now we have abandoned the ship and it is sailing away safely,” Abdi, a pirate aboard the vessel, told the news agency.
Pirate attacks have become more frequent and increasingly more violent in 2011. The majority of the hijackings occur off the coast of Somalia near the Gulf of Aden.
According to a July report by the International Maritime Bureau, pirate attacks around the world totaled 266 during the first six months of the year. The number is up from 196 incidents during the same time last year.
And in “June, for the first time, pirates fired on ships in rough seas in the Indian Ocean during the monsoon season,” IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan stated. “In the past, they would have stayed away in such difficult conditions.”
Source: The Epoch Times
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