Somali pirates free Greek oil tanker seized 10 months ago
Somali pirates have released a Greek-owned oil tanker and its 26 crew members who were seized 10 months ago in the Arabian Sea, the vessel’s owner, Dynacom Tankers Management, said on Monday.
The MT Smyrni, which was carrying one million barrels of crude, was hijacked in May last year off the Gulf Arab state of Oman. Pirates said they released the vessel last week after receiving ransom.
“We took $9.5 million in ransom money and got off from the crude tanker on Friday night,” Isse Abdulahi, who is understood to be one of four pirates who financed the hijacking operation, told Reuters by telephone. [Reuters]
