Hijacked ship crew released unharmed : Thanks to swift negotiations

Eight Sri Lankan crew members of a fuel tanker ARIS 13 hijacked off the coast of Somalia earlier this week have been released unharmed without a ransom payment, according to the Sri Lankan government.

It was the first major hijacking in the east African nation in almost five years, and had raised fears Somali pirates were back in action.

The release followed a gunfight earlier on Thursday between the pirates and the marine force, and then intensive negotiations between the marine force, clan elders and the pirates.

“There has been discussion going on after the gunfight of this afternoon … We pulled our forces back and so the pirates went away,” said Abdirahman Mohamud Hassan, the director general of the maritime police force for Somalia’s semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland.

But the pirates said they had agreed to forego a ransom after learning that Somali businessmen had hired the Aris 13, which was taking oil from Djibouti to the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Pirates have traditionally been wary of tangling with Somalia’s powerful businessmen.

The Aris 13, a Comoros-flagged tanker belonging to a Greek company, was en route from the Somali capital Mogadishu to Djibouti, Somalia's northern neighbor, when it went missing off the coast near a town called Alula (Caluula).

The European Union Naval Force reported Wednesday that pirates had demanded an undisclosed ransom for the vessel's return.

But Sri Lankan officials stated Thursday that the boat and its eight crew members had been released without condition or payment.

The Puntland Maritime Police Force, a locally recruited counter-piracy force, exchanged gunfire with the pirates while they were resupplying the Aris 13, according to a statement by non-profit organization Oceans Beyond Piracy.

The Aris 13 had been attempting to pass through the Socotra Gap -- a route between Ethiopia and the island of Socotra in Yemen -- when it was boarded by the pirates. The route is often used by vessels traveling along the east coast of Africa as a shortcut to save time and money.

"This attack reinforces the need for vessels to follow shipping industry Best Management Practices within the BMP specified High Risk Area," Oceans Beyond Piracy said, adding that the vessel had been traveling at low speed, making it an easier target.