Malta MV Olib G Released by Pirates for $3 Million
Source: Somalia Report
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| MV Olib G (Source: EUNAVFOR) |
Somali pirates released MV Olib G, a Maltese-flagged tanker for $3 million early on Sunday morning, according to pirates in Garacad, who spoke to Somalia Report.
The vessel, with a crew of 18 (15 Georgians and 3 Turks), was released after the ransom was dropped onto the ship.
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| Olib G Crew (Source: Somalia Report) |
“A group of my friends on the MV Olib G returned earlier today after they received their $3 million ransom, which they had been waiting for since yesterday,” Deeq, a pirate in Harardhere told Somalia Report.
“The crew are safe and healthy, and the vessel is in good condition,” Deeq added.
This particular pirate gang is not particularly well known. Somalia Report sources say that the pirates hail mostly from Isse Mohamoud clan (a sub-clan of Majeerteen). The famous pirate negotiator, Looyaan, was in charge of the ransom negotiation.
In July 2011 the families of the crew urged the pirates to show mercy, saying that they did not have the money to pay a ransom. Then, in October, the pirate gang responsible for the hijacking released a video of the hostages, and demanded $9 million for the vessel's release.
The MV Olib G was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on September 8, 2010.
"The liberation of the Georgian sailors hijacked by Somali pirates has ended successfully," Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency said in a statement. The Georgian statement said that government efforts had achieved the seamen's release but did not specify whether the Turkish sailors had been freed or not.
The pirates had been demanding $9 million (7.1 million euros) to release the ship but the Georgian statement did not say whether any ransom had been paid, according to AFP.
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