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Ransom paid to Somali pirates
A ransom has been paid to Somali pirates in a bid to secure the release of a Greek-owned freighter and its crew of 19 being held off the Seychelles.According to the Navfor, the EU's naval mission, on Saturday, "a ransom drop was successfully made for the release of the Greek owned Panama-flagged bulk carrier, Navios Apollon". It was the second ransom drop to the pirates in two days, demonstrating the dilemma governments and companies are in over the need to recover their ships and crews and the fears of encouraging further piracy. In both cases the amount of money handed over to the pirates was not given. Almost immediately after the earlier ransom drop, a Singapore-flagged Indonesian chemical tanker and its 24-strong crew were released by the pirates, Commander John Harbour, a Navfor spokesman, told AFP. The pirates disappeared back to the shore of impoverished Somalia. Posted by: Fred 2010-02-28 |
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