Pirates got ransom for Ariana

11.12.2009
Somali pirates got ransom for hijacked vessel Ariana with 24 Ukrainian crewmembers aboard, said Tuesday representative of Greek company owning the vessel to Reuters.

He did not specify details of the money transfer and exact sum either. However, it is known that pirates wanted $3.5 mln for ship release. Malta-flagged Ariana is expected to be freed in the nearest future, said the interviewee.

Greek cargo ship Ariana with Ukrainian crew on board was captured in May 2009 near Seychelles in Indian Ocean. Pirates attacked the vessel sailing from Brazil to Middle East with 35,000 tonnes of soy.

In August the crew addressed to Ukrainian authorities with request to help in ship release. Late November there was information that pirates set Ariana free, although finally that rumor was not proved out as the shipmaster of Ariana refuted false report.

It has been multiply reported that sailors were exhausted and pirates menaced to sell them as slaves. The current status of Ariana crewmembers is uncertain. There is no information whether anybody suffered or not. Ukrainian authorities have not commented reports of Ariana release so far.

Source: Lenta.Ru, photo: Ariana (novinite.com)