Somali pirates free UAE-owned cargo ship

Somali pirates freed on Sunday a Comoros-flagged cargo ship owned by businesspersons from the United Arab Emirates.

It was held for six weeks with a 22-man crew since its capture off Mogadishu. The crew were mainly Indian nationals. Piracy has been rife off Somalia since it plunged into anarchy with the 1991 fall of a dictator. Pirates also hijacked a Japanese chemical tanker, the Golden Nori, at the end of October, and are thought to be seeking a ransom of more than $1 million. The Golden Nori’s 23-man crew are from Myanmar, the Philippines and South Korea.

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