Somali pirates released a Bangladeshi ship with 26 crew after detaining the vessel for more than three months, the ship's owner said today.
The MV Jahan Moni was hijacked about 3,000km east of Somalia on December 5 while sailing to Europe with merchandise from Singapore.
Mohammad Shahjahan, the ship's owner, said the hijackers freed the vessel and the crew after prolonged negotiations. He did not give details.
"The ship has left a hideout of pirates and is now sailing towards Shalalah port of Oman," Mr Shahjahan told reporters in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong.
Somali pirates are making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms through seizing ships, including tankers and dry bulkers, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, despite the efforts of foreign navies to prevent such attacks.