Somali pirates release Iran chartered ship

Somali pirates have released a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship chartered by Iran which was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden in November, Iran's state broadcaster has reported. The urgent reaction committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines said the vessel named Delight was released on Friday evening and was sailing towards the Iranian coast. It said that all 25 members of the crew were safe but did not say whether any ransom had been paid.The Somali pirates seized the Delight in November as it headed for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas carrying 36,000 tonnes of wheat.In October, the Iranian authorities paid a ransom to secure the release of a merchant ship hijacked off the Somali coast two months earlier. On Friday, Somali pirates also freed the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned super-tanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil which was also hijacked in November. Last year alone, pirates operating off the Somali coast carried out more than 130 attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, turning the region into the world's most dangerous waters.
- AFP