Somali Pirates Got USD 2 M for Bulgarian Sailors

Somali pirates said they had received a USD 2 M ransom for the release of a British-owned vessel and its 16 Bulgarian crew.

"We got a USD 2 M ransom for the release of the British-owned ship," pirate Mohamed Saleh, from the Somali coastal village of Eyl, told Reuters on Sunday.

"A helicopter brought the money."

Somali pirates freed a British-owned ship on Saturday after being captured more than a month ago.

Its Italian operator paid the ransom, Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry said.

The 32,000-tonne bulker Malaspina Castle was hijacked on April 6. Bulgarian government officials have said the ship had a total of 24 crew, including 16 Bulgarians.

Heavily armed Somali pirates continue to attack shipping in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden despite the presence of international warships and a string of recent operations against them in recent months, some of which resulted in bloodshed, BBC commented.