Somali pirates released a hijacked ship, MV Abdullah, and its crew of 23 early on Sunday after a US$5 million ransom was paid, according to two pirates.
“The money was brought to us two nights ago as usual … we checked whether the money was fake or not. Then we divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces,” Abdirashiid Yusuf, one of the pirates, said.
He added the ship had been released with all its crew.
Somalia government officials did not respond to a request for comment.
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The MV Abdullah’s owners, KSRM Group, negotiated with the bulk carrier’s captors and the vessel sailed for Dubai early Sunday Bangladeshi time, a spokesman said.
“We struck a deal with the pirates,” said Mizanul Islam of SR Shipping, the group’s maritime arm.
“We cannot say more about the money … All the crew are safe and secure,” he said.
The vessel’s capture came after the first successful case of Somali piracy since 2017 was recorded in December.
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A series of incidents since then has fuelled concerns about a resurgence of Indian Ocean raids by opportunistic pirates exploiting a security gap after the redeployment of international forces.
Last month, Indian commandos boarded and recaptured the vessel seized in December, the Maltese-flagged MV Ruen, around 260 nautical miles (480 kilometres) off the Somali coast.
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All 17 hostages were rescued and 35 alleged pirates were brought to Mumbai to face prosecution.
Analysts say that the Somali pirate threat remains well below its 2011 peak when gunmen launched attacks as far as 3,655 kilometres from the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean.
It fell off sharply after international navies sent warships and commercial shipping deployed armed guards.