Somali pirates Wednesday, after being held hostage for nearly a year."The sailors on ship RAK Africana were picked up by a Spanish naval ship in vicinity, (They are) safe," Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao wrote on Twitter, adding the negotiations for their release were "delicate" and "prolonged".
RAK Africana, registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was hijacked by the Somali pirates on April 11, 2010, about 280 nautical miles west of Seychelles and 23 crew members, including 11 Indians, were taken hostage.
And, per EU NAVFOR...a special surprise ending:
On the morning of 9 March, marine authorities received a distress call from the MV ARAK AFRIKANA stating that they were taking on large amounts of water due to what was described as a 'hole in the hull'. The vessel had been released from pirate control only hours earlier.
The EU NAVFOR warship SPS CANARIAS was immediately sent to assist the stricken vessel and was later joined by the Italian warship ITS ZEFFIRO which arrived first and carried out the rescue operation. The master of the vessel stated that the ship would probably sink in about 5 hours. 25 crewmembers abandoned the RAK AFRIKANA and took to the lifeboats. The crew were rescued by Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) from the Italian warship shortly afterward. The SPS CANARIAS resumed her Counter-Piracy duties once the situation was resolved.
The RAK AFRIKANA was pirated on 11 April 2010. There is no information on the cause of the damage that led to the distress call. The rescued crew members are reported to be in satisfactory condition considering that they have been held captive for the last 332 days. It is not known if the RAK AFRIKANA is still afloat at this time.