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| Pirates free ship five months on | Pirates free ship five months on |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Somali pirates have freed a ship and its crew of 23 Filipinos after holding them for five months. | Somali pirates have freed a ship and its crew of 23 Filipinos after holding them for five months. |
| The owner of the Stolt Strength said securing the release of vessel and crew had been "difficult and protracted". | The owner of the Stolt Strength said securing the release of vessel and crew had been "difficult and protracted". |
| The ship was seized on 10 November last year in the Gulf of Aden while carrying a chemical cargo from Senegal to India. It is not known if a ransom was paid. | The ship was seized on 10 November last year in the Gulf of Aden while carrying a chemical cargo from Senegal to India. It is not known if a ransom was paid. |
| Somalia has had no stable government since 1991, fuelling the lawlessness that has allowed piracy to thrive. | Somalia has had no stable government since 1991, fuelling the lawlessness that has allowed piracy to thrive. |
| Doris Deseo, wife of Carlo Deseo, the ship's 31-year-old third mate, told AP news agency: "They have been released, thank God! I am super happy." | Doris Deseo, wife of Carlo Deseo, the ship's 31-year-old third mate, told AP news agency: "They have been released, thank God! I am super happy." |
| The ship's owner, Sagana Shipping Inc, declined to say whether it paid any ransom for Tuesday morning's release of the ship and crew. | |
| But Andrew Mwangura, of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, told AFP news agency: "We think that something was paid but we don't know what." | |
| Relatives of the crew have said the ransom the pirates were demanding was haggled down to just over $2m (£1.4m) by last week. | Relatives of the crew have said the ransom the pirates were demanding was haggled down to just over $2m (£1.4m) by last week. |
| Nato warships are patrolling the seas around the Horn of Africa nation and over the past weeks have stepped up their action against the pirates, freeing a number of ships. | |
| The Stolt Strength's case was one of the longest-running hijackings by sea brigands in the busy maritime trade routes of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. | |
| The Ukrainian MV Faina weapons ship was also held by Somali pirates for five months before being released in February for a ransom of $3.2m (£2.2m). |