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HIJACKED GREEK OIL TANKER WITH SOME SRI LANKAN CREW MEN BY SOMALI PIRATES RELEASED AFTER RANSOM

By Walter Jayawardhana

A Greek owned oil tanker with some Sri lankan crewmen hijackeded by Somali pirates has been released after the payment of ransom, the Voice of America radio reported.

Quoting Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry the broadcast said a ransom has been paid to save the tanker and the crew members with its oil cargo intact since they had no other choice.

The 19 crew members included Sri Lankans , Georgians and Syrians the broadcast said.
The ship MV Genius, seized Sept. 26, was released Friday and is about 500 miles (800 kilometers) off Somalia on its way to the United Arab Emirates, ministry spokesman Constantine Gialelis said.
The pirates had hijacked the 6,765 gross-ton vessel in the Gulf of Aden near the Horn of Africa, the statement said. The gulf waters ridden with Somali pirates have become highly disastrous for shipping during the last few weeks and so far seized eight vessels including a Saudi Arabian owned super tanker named Sirius. .

A representative of Piraeus-based Mare Shipmanagement, the tanker's management company, said that the pirates had contacted the owners right after the ship was hijacked and had demanded a ransom.

"Our primary concern is the safety of the ship and its crew. ... They released it when ransom was paid," Ctesiphon Koukoulas was quoted having told a news agency, without specifying the amount.(

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