A Kenyan maritime organization said the German shipping firm’s Antigua and Barbuda-flagged MV BBC Trinidad and a Japanese tanker MT Irene were allowed to sail after being seized on August 21 off the unpatrolled Somali coast.
“As of now, we have confirmed that the two ships have been released by the pirates,” Andrew Mwangura of the Kenyan branch of the Seafarers’ Assistance Programme told AFP from the port town of Mombasa.
The MV BBC Trinidad, which was held in the northeastern Somali fishing village of Eyl, has a 13-member crew: a Slovenian captain, 10 Filipinos and two Russians.
“We have got information that $1.1 million was paid for the release of the German ship,” said Mwangura, adding that the freighter is headed to Muscat.
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