Saturday, August 8, 2009

SOMALI PIRATES - GERMAN SHIP IN KENYA

MOMBASA, Aug 8 - A German container ship held for four months by Somali pirates arrived in the Kenyan port of Mombasa late Friday after being ransomed, a port official said.

"The German ship with 24 crew members is in Mombasa but has to be cleared to dock at the port, and that must be done tomorrow morning," he told AFP.

Pirates released the Hansa Stavanger and its 24-strong crew on Monday after being paid 2.7 million dollars in ransom, according to Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based Seafarers Assistance Programme.

The 20,000-tonne vessel was seized in April around 400 nautical miles from the Somali coast, between Kenya and the Seychelles.

Some 200 sailors from at least 11 ships are still being held in the region.

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