18:30, 9 April 2011

Somalia pirates release ship with Georgian sailor

Somalia pirates have released the tanker "Irene SL", sailing under the Greek flag, where a Georgian seaman Georgiy Chkadua was a crew member.

According to the Greek Coastal Service, all the 25 crew members are at large and feel well. For security reasons, no other details were reported by the Service.

The Greek super-tanker was captured by Somalia pirates on February 9, 2011, off the coast of Oman. Its crew comprised 7 the Greeks, 17 Filipinos and one Georgian. The tanker was en route from Kuwait to the USA with 2 million barrels (250,000 tons) of oil worth 200 million US dollars on board, the "Georgia Online" reports.

On April 8, the Ministry of Maritime Trade of Greece reported, with reference to the operating company of the tanker that the tanker "Irene SL" was on its way to the South African port of Durban. As reported by the RIA "Novosti", the company said nothing about payment of the ransom demanded by the pirates.