Somali pirates release 21 hostages

January 16, 2012

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Somali pirates released 21 Indian crew members held hostage on the MV Fairchem Bogey ship since August 2011, officials in Mumbai said.

"All the 21 sailors are safe and the ship is now on its way to a safe port," Director of General Shipping S.B. Agnihotri told reporters late Saturday (January 14th). The director did not disclose if a ransom was paid for the release of the ship, run by Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, and its crew, who were taken hostage off the Omani coast on August 20th.

The release comes days after Britain's Royal Navy captured 13 suspected pirates and their weapons in an operation off the coast of Somalia.

When the suspected pirate vessel did not stop after warning shots were fired by a Royal Navy helicopter, the Royal Marines used speedboats and boarded the dhow on Friday. The Royal Navy's anti-piracy mission is part of the NATO-led force policing the Indian Ocean.

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