Pirates Free Greek Tanker, No News from Bulgarian Hostages

An undated file picture of the Greek tanker "Maran Centauraus", which was attacked by Pirates in the Indian Ocean off Somalia with small arms. The pirates took its crew hostage and directed the vessel towards Somalia on 29 November 2009. Photo by EPA/BGNE

Somali pirates have freed a Greek-owned oil tanker, a day after a ransom was delivered aboard the ship, BBC reported, citing the pirates and officials.

The Maran Centaurus was seized on 29 November with 28 crew members.

"She's free. She's preparing to sail out" from Harardhere, Andrew Mwangura, of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, told AFP.

A ransom of between USD 5,5 M and USD 7 M is believed to have been dropped on the deck of the tanker.

When it was hijacked, the Maran Centaurus was sailing near the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, about 1,300km (800 miles) off Somalia.

Its crew is made up of 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and one Romanian. It is carrying about two million barrels of oil.

Negotiations with Somali pirates to free the two hijacked ships, both with Bulgarian sailors aboard - UK-flagged cargo ship “The Asian Glory” and the chemical tanker "St James Park," started a week ago, but have not yielded any results yet.

"The Asian Glory," which was transporting cars from Singapore to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, was seized at the end of December about 600 miles east of the Somali coast before it could join a convoy. The ship’s payload can be up to 4,000 cars.

Another British-flagged ship with five Bulgarians onboard, the chemical tanker "St James Park," was seized a few days latrer in the Gulf of Aden. "St James Park" has a crew of 26, consisting of Bulgarians, Filipinos, Georgians, Indians, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Turks and Ukrainians.

London-based Zodiac Maritime Agencies manage both ships but the company says there is no other connection between the hijackings which it described as a case of lightning striking the same place twice.

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