Somali Pirates Free Ship Taken Almost Two Years Ago

A pirate commander in Somalia stated that a cargo ship owned by the United Arab Emirates has been freed after being held captive for almost two years.

Somali pirate commander Hassan Abdi states Saturday that a $600,000 ransom was paid to them on Friday for the MV Orna, reports ABC News.

Abdi added, however, that the ransom just paid for the ship and six hostages are still being held on land. Somali pirates shot and killed one of the ship’s crew members in August after ransom payments were delayed.

The MV Orna, which is owned by a company in the United Arab Emirates, was hijacked by the pirates 400 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles in December 2010.

Abdi stated on Saturday that other ships towed the vessel away after the ransom was paid, because the ship had run out of fuel.

While Indian Ocean pirate hijackings are down drastically in 2012, because of improved on-board defenses, Somali pirates still hold six ships and about 170 crew members captive.

BBC notes that the announcement comes one day after Kenya’s Court of Appeals ruled that the country’s courts are allowed to try pirates that have been captured in international waters.

The ruling overturns a 2010 Kenyan High Court ruling, which stated that courts could only deal with cases related to offences carried out inside the country’s borders. Following the ruling, Judge David Maraga stated:

“Piracy has negative effects on the country’s economy and any state, even if not directly affected by piracy must try and punish the offenders.”

Navies from around the world are currently patrolling in the waters off of the coast of Somalia to try and stop pirate attacks on cargo ships.