An Italian tugboat and its crew of 16 who were seized by pirates off the Gulf of Aden in April have been released.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said he had been given the news by the Somali prime minister.
The ship's release was the result of "exceptional work" on the part of Somali authorities and the Italian intelligence service, he said.
The pirates hijacked the Italian-flagged Buccaneer on April 11th with a crew of 10 Italians, five Romanians and one Croatian and took it to a point close to Las Qoray, a fishing village in a disputed area of northern Somalia.
The ship is now on its way to the port of Djibouti, escorted by naval vessels, said the general manager of the company that owns it, Ravenna-based Micoperi Marine Contractors.
The ship was not freed as the result of military action and no ransom was paid, Mr Bartolotti said.
However, the pirates claimed a $4 million ransom was taken.
Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of regional maritime group, East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, said the pirates received $5 million. "They were counting the money last evening," he told Reuters by telephone.
Las Qoray lies between the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia and breakaway Somaliland. Puntland has been relatively peaceful compared with southern Somalia, which has been mired in conflict for 18 years, but has become infamous as a base for pirates who have hijacked scores of ships in the busy shipping lanes off the coast.
Reuters