Berlin, July 18 (DPA) Somali pirates have released a German-owned cargo ship, the MS Victoria, officials said here Saturday.
The Victoria was carrying 10,000 tonnes of rice from India to Saudi Arabia when it was seized in the Gulf of Aden, 120 nautical miles north of Boosaaso, in May. It belongs to a German company, but its entire crew of 11 were Romanian, German diplomats said.
The ship is registered in Antigua.
“I can confirm the ship is no longer in the hands of the pirates,” a German foreign ministry spokesman told DPA.
But he rejected reports that a second German-owned ship, the Hansa Stavanger, seized in early April, had also been released.
“The crisis team is putting maximum effort into a solution,” he said.
There was no immediate information on whether its owners might have paid a ransom to obtain the release of the crew and ship.
