By DPA,
Jakarta: Eleven Indonesian crew members of a Malaysian tugboat were freed after being held captive for seven months by Somali pirates, a government official said Tuesday.
But the foreign ministry’s spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, declined to give details to protect the security of the released crew members. He said the government would disclose the details in the coming days.
“We received the information regarding the release of the Indonesian crew yesterday (Monday) evening,” Faizasyah said.
Reports said the pirates had released the Malaysian tugboat, Masindra Seven, and its crew of 11 Indonesians after holding it for seven months.
Liza Ali, a spokesman for the vessel’s owner, Masindra Shipping, told Malaysia’s Bernama news agency that the tugboat had been released Sunday, but said it remained in a zone considered to be “dangerous” and refused to comment further.
Media reports said the hostage-takers received a ransom.
The Masindra was captured in December at the tail-end of a spike in pirate activity in the busy shipping lane off the Somali coast, which links Asia with Europe.
Many of the piracy attacks end with the payment of a ransom.