Pirates Release Greek Bulk Ship

Somali pirates released a Greek-owned dry bulk carrier and its 21 crew members, including 14 Filipinos, after more than a month in captivity, the Philippine government and the ship's owner said Friday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, reported that the M/V Delvina was heading to Mombasa with its crew, who were safe and in good health.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Ed Malaya said the ship, seized on Nov. 5, was released around 2 a.m. Friday (1 p.m. EST Thursday).

"All the crew are reported unharmed and are well despite their 43-day ordeal," the ship's owner, Meadway Shipping & Trading Inc., said in a statement in Athens, Greece.

It said the ship was hijacked northeast of the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean as it sailed from Ukraine to Mombasa.

The company did not give any other details about the ship's release, including whether a ransom was paid. It said it did not want to jeopardize the safety of other ships and crew still being held by pirates.

The Philippine government's statement said 53 Filipino sailors on four ships were still being held by the pirates. More than 340 others have been freed since 2006. Filipinos account for about 30 percent of the world's 1.2 million merchant sailors.

The release of the ship and its crew comes a week before a visit by Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister Abdurahman Aden Ibrahim Ibbi to Manila to discuss anti-piracy measures, a separate statement said.

"As the supplier of about a third of the world's shipping manpower, the Philippines is directly affected by the scourge of piracy," the statement said.

Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com.