Somali pirates free Russian-built tugboat

Somali pirates have freed a Russian-built tugboat more than a month after it was seized off the coast of the Horn of Africa country, a minister in the breakaway Puntland region said.

Ahmed Said Awnur, Puntland's minister for seaports and fishery, told that the Svitzer Korsakov was released late Monday along with its crew after a ransom was paid. "We got the information that the pirates released a Russian ship in the coastal village of Eyl after they were paid a ransom of 700,000 dollars," Awnur told. "We regret that deal because it encourages the pirate attacks." Comprising six crew members -- a British captain, an Irish chief engineer, a Russian first officer and three Russian crewmen -- the boat was captured on February 1. Denmark-based maritime services company Svitzer said: "All crew members are well and unharmed," but declined to elaborate on the ransom. "Any such details provided in the public domain would, we believe, encourage would-be pirates and add further danger to the victims of such attacks," it said in its website. Numerous attacks have taken place off Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coastline, prompting the International Maritime Bureau to advise sailors to steer clear. Somalia lies at the mouth of the Red Sea on a major trade route between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal.

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