Yemeni Ship to be Released Without Ransom
well thats awfully nice of them
BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali pirates have agreed to release a Yemeni cargo ship, the MV Amani, without ransom, after negotiations between the hijackers, local elders and provincial officials, a minister said on Friday.
“No ransom was paid, but after negotiations, the pirates will get off the ship soon. The Yemeni ship will be released in the coming hours,” Ali Abdi Aware, state minister of the northern province of Puntland, told Reuters.
The ship was seized on November 25 in the Gulf of Aden. No other details about the vessel, its crew and cargo were available.
Aware said the Yemeni ambassador to Somalia was also in Puntland to participate in the negotiations to release the ship.
A surge in piracy in the Gulf of Aden has sent foreign warships rushing to the area, but the attacks continue despite the huge presence of international forces.
In a separate development, a Kenyan maritime official said on Sunday that gunmen who captured a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks and other military hardware had reached a deal with its owners to release the vessel.
The pirates and owners of the MV Faina were discussing arrangements for delivering the money, said Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme.
The pirates had previously demanded a $20 million ransom.
aha, sat down and had a chat, they did
Somali President Yusuf urged the hijackers to release the Yemeni ship immediately and unconditionally, threatening that they will face a fierce confrontation if they do not heed his call. He also warned Somali businessmen operating between Somali and Yemeni ports that “our Yemeni brothers have a similar culture and hot weather like Somalia,” noting that the Yemeni authorities can intercept ships and freighters owned by Somali businessmen in retaliation for the hijacking of the Yemeni ships off the Somali coasts. Somali sources said that some Somali businessmen, who are involved in acts of piracy and who support the hijackers of Arab and foreign ships off the Somali coasts, have their businesses headquartered in the capitals of the Arab Gulf, Djibouti, and Kenya.
Ali Abdi Awara, minister of state in the Puntland province, has vowed that the Puntland forces will storm the hijacked Yemeni ship if the pirates refuse to release her without being paid a ransom. He said: “We will release the hijacked Yemeni ship by force if they do not release it without payment of ransom, because we are linked to Yemen by good relations.”
