A regional maritime official confirmed Thursday that an Omani ship which was hijacked by Somali pirates for almost eight months has been freed.
The pirates released the ASMAK fishing vessel, which was hijacked on Jan. 14, on Thursday, with 22 crew members aboard unharmed, said Andrew Mwangura, the East African Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP).
"The 22 crew men of Oman fishing vessel ASMAK has been released unharmed and are preparing to sail back to Oman," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone.
The fishing vessel was hijacked near Garaad in Mudug region and taken to Eyl in Nugul region some 500 km north of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
At least 30 ships have been hijacked off the coast of Horn of Africa nation so far this year.
A record four ships were seized in 48 hours last week and the frequency of piracy attacks has been especially high in the past month.
According to Mwangura, Iran's DEYANAT, a bulk carrier laden with 40,000 tons of iron ore en route from China to the Netherlands, was attacked by pirates last week.
"All 29 crew on board, including 14 Iranians, three Indians and others from five different nationalities, are unhurt," Mwangura said.
"Reports reaching Mombasa last evening indicates that there is a shortage of ship stores, fresh water and supply aboard the vessels in captivity," he said.
Piracy has long been a problem in the Gulf of Aden, where one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, connecting the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, passes by lawless Somalia, which has been without an effective central government since 1991.
The attackers are usually armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades and travel in small, fast speedboats that can be towed more than 100 miles offshore by larger vessels to lie in wait.
Somalia's coastline is considered one of the world's most dangerous stretches of water because of piracy.
Source:Xinhua
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