25 Crew members aboard - Sirius Star - a Saudi-owned supertanker have finally been released by Somali pirates after spending nearly two-month ordeal and will soon be reunited with their families, confirmed the vessel owners while refusing to comment if a ransom ha been paid to secure the release.
"We are very relieved to know that all the crew members are safe and I am glad to say that they are all in good health and high spirits," said ship owners Vela International in a statement.
"This has been a very trying time for them and certainly for their families. We are very happy to report to their families that they will be on their way home soon," the statement added
The ship is worth nearly 150 million dollars and its payload was estimated at a whopping 100 million dollars at the time of the hijacking.
The 330-metre Sirius Star, owned by the Saudi oil giant Aramco, was captured off the east African coast on November 15, in what was the pirates' most daring and largest seizure to date.
A report on the BBC website attributing the inputs to sources suggested that three million dollars were delivered to the pirate group on Thursday.
"I can't comment on this kind of information," a Vela spokesman was quoted as saying by AFP.
The 25 crew members aboard the ship and in captivity included British, Croatian, Saudi, Philippine and Polish nationals, where the ship's captain hails from.
In recent months pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, have struck with impunity, targeting some 130 vessels in 2008 alone.
"We are very relieved to know that all the crew members are safe and I am glad to say that they are all in good health and high spirits," said ship owners Vela International in a statement.
"This has been a very trying time for them and certainly for their families. We are very happy to report to their families that they will be on their way home soon," the statement added
The ship is worth nearly 150 million dollars and its payload was estimated at a whopping 100 million dollars at the time of the hijacking.
The 330-metre Sirius Star, owned by the Saudi oil giant Aramco, was captured off the east African coast on November 15, in what was the pirates' most daring and largest seizure to date.
A report on the BBC website attributing the inputs to sources suggested that three million dollars were delivered to the pirate group on Thursday.
"I can't comment on this kind of information," a Vela spokesman was quoted as saying by AFP.
The 25 crew members aboard the ship and in captivity included British, Croatian, Saudi, Philippine and Polish nationals, where the ship's captain hails from.
In recent months pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, have struck with impunity, targeting some 130 vessels in 2008 alone.
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