Pirates Free Crew

According to Reuters Africa, following the payment of a $4 million ransom Somali pirates have freed the crew of a Maltese-flagged chemical tanker.

Citing Somalia Report’s piracy expert Andrew Mwangura as the source of information, the article states that on their release last week the crew – three Turks and 15 Georgians – sailed to Mombasa in Kenya in a tugboat. The tanker MV Olib G was abandoned off the Somali coast.

Mwangura, a former regional maritime official, also stated that the Greek-owned and operated tanker was on its last trip before being scraped when it was seized in the Gulf of Aden.

Kenya’s military have claimed that since sending forces into Somalia incidents of piracy have become less frequent. Nairobi sent forces into the neighbouring country last October to fight al-Shabaab rebels. Kenya maintains its Navy stationed off the southern coast of Somalia.