Somali pirates released German vessel with Russian shipmaster

Somali pirates on March 1 (2) released for ransom German cargo ship Ems River captured on Dec 27, 2010. 

Amount of the ransom is not reported. All crewmen are alive and relatively healthy; they are 7 Filipinos and one Russian shipmaster (other sources say he is Romanian). 

Somali pirates hijacked cargo ship Ems River on Dec 27 at 13:03 (zulu time) in the point 17 57N 057 43E (175 miles northeastward Salalah, Oman) in the Gulf of Aden. Ems River was sailing from United Arab Emirates to Greece. Ems River IMO 9551662; deadweight is 5,200 tons; built in 2010; flag state is Antigua; operated by Grona Tankers, Germany.

Somali pirates seize German ship off Seychelles

A German shipping line appealed for naval intervention after Somali pirates seized a cargo ship and its 12 crew off the Seychelles.

The owners of the Beluga Nomination voiced frustration that no military help had reached the 12-man crew during the first two days of their ordeal, when they had taken refuge in a secure "citadel". The pirates were now in full control of the vessel.

"Military assistance is badly required," Bremen-based Beluga Shipping GmbH said in a statement, adding that the ship was now heading west toward Somalia. The crew comprises a Polish captain and seven Filipino, two Russian and two Ukrainian seamen, Reuters reports.

"We are somewhat irritated," Beluga chief executive Niels Stolberg said. "Why, within 2-1/2 days during which the crew had hidden from the pirates in the citadel, could no external help be offered?"

The Beluga Nomination was boarded about 800 miles off the Seychelles, far from the areas where pirates mainly operate.