Somali pirates released a Danish ship, which had been held captive for more than two months in the Gulf of Aden after the operator paid ransom in a container dropped by parachute from an airplane, reported Bloomberg.
The last nine of some 30 pirates abandoned the M/V CEC Future today, leaving the 13 crew members unharmed, Per Gullestrup, an executive with Copenhagen-based shipper Clipper Group A/S, said in a telephone interview.
"It took the pirates more than a day to count the money and divide it between them before they all left," Gullestrup said. He declined to disclose the exact amount paid, saying that would make it more difficult for other shippers currently negotiating with pirates. "But the current rate is between $1 million and $2 million per vessel."
Pirates attacked 165 ships off the Somali coast last year, up from 58 attacks in 2007, according to the French military. The Gulf of Aden, where most of the attacks take place, is transited by 50 ships a day on their way to or from the Suez Canal.
The ship, which was sailing under the Bahamas flag, was captured Nov. 7 en route to Indonesia with 6,000 tonnes (6,600 short tons) of steel. It is now heading for Oman, where the crew, which includes 11 Russians, one Estonian and one Georgian, will be replaced before it continues to its final destination.
Clipper, which operates some 250 vessels, will only sail through the Gulf of Aden under naval escort from now on, Gullestrup said.
