(UDHAYAM, MOGADISHU) – The hijacked Aries 13 vessel with the Sri Lankan captain and crew on board was released by Somali pirates last night.
The crew comprised of 8 Sri Lankans, and it is noteworthy that the ship was released without condition.
The hijacking incident marks the first, by Somali pirates since 2012.
The released ship is currently en route to Bossaso harbour in Somalia.
The hijacked ship was anchored off the Alula harbour, which is located in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia.
The Captain of the ship, Nicolas Anthony told to a prominent online news portal yesterday, that there were nearly 70 pirates on board the ship.
The captain had requested that the Somali government withdraw the security forces deployed around the ship.
During this instance, immediate action was taken with the involvement of President Maithreepala Sirisena, to hold discussions with the Somali government.
The President, had informed the Navy commander to take action accordingly, and the Joint Naval forces had contacted the Somali maritime police requesting them to withhold launching an attack on the ship.
The crew members of the ship noted that shooting at Aries 13 had endangered their lives.
However, following diplomatic efforts, the rescue mission commenced where discussions were held with the pirates, navy and Somali semi-autonomous government mediators.
The fuel carrying vessel was hijacked by pirates when it was en route to Somalia from Djibouti last Monday.
