DUBAI: An Indian-flagged vessel with its 14-member crew, which was hijacked by pirates off Somalia, has been freed after a USD 45,000 ransom was paid to the captors, maritime sources in Dubai said on Saturday. The vessel MV Nimatullah was hijacked by the Somali pirates last week off the port of Mogadishu.Basheer Khalid Moosa, who charted the vessel to Mogadishu from Dubai, said his agents paid the ransom. "The pirates had demanded USD 50,000 but settled for USD 45,000," he was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times.
MV Nimatullah is currently docked in Mogadishu port and will set sail for Dubai after clearing the cargo, Moosa said, adding the crew members were all safe and healthy.
The pirates in Somalia had hijacked another UN-charted vessel, MV Rozen, on February 25 this year. This vessel is still missing.