Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Somali pirates have released an Iranian ship, Dianat, two months after being hijacked in the notorious Gulf of Aden, Iran’s shipping company says.
On August 21, the pirates seized the Iranian bulk carrier, carrying 42,500 tons of minerals and industrial products.
“The ship Dianat was released on Friday morning after seven weeks of negotiations with Somali pirates and all 29 members of the crew are safe,” Said public relations office of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL).
The ship is sailing towards international waters, IRISL added.
The waters off Somalia and Nigeria are the most pirate-infested in the world and Pirates have seized more than two dozen ships off Somalia’s coast this year.
Iran has criticized world powers for being indifferent toward the insecurity of international waters, press tv reported.
Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Iran is shocked by the apathetic approach of certain powers toward organized crime in Somalia and the country’s territorial waters.
The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday calling on all countries with a stake in maritime safety off Somalia to send naval ships and military aircraft to confront growing piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
On Thursday, NATO joined a growing international force to protect vessels off Somalia’s perilous coast and sent military ships to the treacherous waters.
NATO defense ministers meeting in Hungary agreed that a seven-ship force would be in the region within weeks.
Somali pirates are holding a Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with tanks and heavy weapons hijacked late last month. They initially demanded a $20 million ransom, but reports Tuesday said the demand had dropped to $8 million. A half-dozen US Navy warships have surrounded the MV Faina.
