Somali pirates have released a British-flagged ship they seized on January 1st, the Bulgarian foreign ministry said yesterday, and the European Union Naval Force said the release came after a ransom was paid.
“The Asian Glory, which has eight Bulgarian sailors on board, has been freed from pirate captivity. The ship is expected to head to Oman, escorted by a British warship,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry and the Zodiac Maritime Agency, which manages the ship that carries vehicles, had declined to say whether a ransom had been paid for the release of the ship and its crew, comprising 25 members – eight Bulgarian, 10 Ukrainian, five Indian and two Romanian.
But the EU naval force in Somalia, Eunavfor, said an unknown amount had been paid out to the pirates holding the vessel.
“On 11 June 2010, a ransom drop was made to the pirate group holding the merchant vessel Asian Glory at anchor in the vicinity of Garacad on the eastern coast of Somalia,” it said in a statement on its website.