Somali pirates set to free ship with 19 Indians

MOGADISHU - Somali pirates are set to release a German-operated cargo ship with 19 Indians after receiving a 5.5-million-dollar ransom, the leader of the pirate group said Monday.

“We have received our money after a plane dropped it by parachute this morning,” Khalif Dahir, who said he was the leader of the group that seized the ship, told DPA.

“Our people are leaving the ship and it will be released this evening.”

Pirates seized control of the Marshall Islands-flagged Marida Marguerite and its crew of 19 Indians, two Bangladeshis and one Ukrainian off Oman’s coast May 8.

Piracy is rife off the coast of lawless Somalia, where over 25 ships and 601 hostages are being held, according to the European Union’s anti-piracy force.