Somali pirates have freed the African Sanderling, a Korean-owned bulk carrier, a regional maritime official said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The Panama-flagged, Japanese-operated bulk carrier was seized with its 21 Filipino crew on Oct. 15. All crew members were released in good health. It was not clear if any ransom had been paid.
Below are some of the ships believed to be still held:
FAINA: Seized Sept. 24. The ship was carrying 33 T-72 tanks, grenade launchers and ammunition destined for Kenya`s Mombasa port. Pirates have demanded $20 million in ransom.
STOLT STRENGTH: Seized Nov. 10. The chemical tanker had 23 Filipino crew aboard. It was carrying 23,818 tonnes of oil products.
THE KARAGOL: Seized Nov. 12. The Turkish ship with 14 crew was hijacked off Yemen. It was transporting more than 4,000 tonnes of chemicals to Mumbai.
TIANYU 8: Seized Nov. 13/14. The Chinese fishing boat was reported seized off Kenya. The crew included 15 Chinese, one Taiwanese, one Japanese, three Filipinos and four Vietnamese.
CHEMSTAR VENUS: Seized Nov. 15. The tanker was travelling from Dumai, Indonesia, to Ukraine. It had 18 Filipino and five South Korean crew.
BISCAGLIA: Seized on Nov. 28. The Biscaglia, a Liberian-flagged chemical tanker, had 30 crew on board: 25 Indians, three Britons and two Bangladeshis.
NAMES UKNOWN: Seized on Dec. 10. Pirates hijacked two Yemeni fishing vessels with a total of 22 crew in coastal waters in the Gulf of Aden. Five crew reportedly escaped.
NAMES UNKNOWN: Seized on Dec. 16. A yacht with two on board, an Indonesian tugboat used by French oil company Total and a 100-metre (330-ft) cargo ship belonging to an Istanbul-based shipping company were hijacked. Pirates also hijacked the Chinese fishing vessel Zhenhua-4 with 30 Chinese crew aboard but it was freed the next day.
BLUE STAR: Seized on Jan. 1, 2009. The Egyptian merchant ship was sailing east with a cargo of 6,000 tonnes of urea, a product used as a fertiliser. It had 28 Egyptian crew aboard.
