Tug boat Svitzer Korsakov released after Ransom Payment

Posted by Akiva

March 18, 2008

Somali pirates released the Svitzer Korsakov, Danish-owned tugboat. The tug was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on February 1, 2008 and held for ransom for more than a month. According to Ahmed Said Aw-Nur, Puntland's isheries and ports minister, the tug and its crew was freed after the Danish owner paid $700,000 ransom. According to Aw-Nur the crew is well and on board the Svitzer Korsakov. Furthermore, he condemned the paying of ransom "because it can encourage more piracy." Piracy already is increasingly common along Somalia's 1,880-mile coast, which is the longest in Africa and near key shipping routes connecting the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean.