Somali pirates say they have been paid millions of dollars to release the crew of a Spanish fishing boat taken hostage six weeks ago.The gang said the 36 sailors from the Alakrana would be released shortly when the cash, reported to be between £1.8m-£2.4m, had been counted. There was no indication who paid the ransom and the Spanish government refused to comment.
The ship's captain, Ricardo Blach, told Spanish public radio RNE the crew were "all in good health". Among them are 16 Spaniards, eight Indonesians, as well as others from Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Senegal and the Seychelles.
The pirates had threatened to kill the crew unless the Spanish government released two pirates captured by the Spanish Navy a day after the Alakrana was seized.
The news came as another group of pirates took 28 North Korean sailors hostage - and a separate attack was repelled by a Ukrainian cargo ship. The MV Theresa VIII, a Singaporean-operated chemical tanker manned by North Koreans, was taken on Monday. A security team onboard the Ukranian-owned MV Lady Juliet repelled a pirate attack by firing rocket propelled grenades and Kalashnikovs.
And Somali pirates are still holding the British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler after raiding their 38ft boat off the Seychelles last month.
The area is patrolled by the EU's naval force Navfor.
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