"We on behalf of PT Samudera Indonesia hereby state that the 20 Indonesian crew members of MV Sinar Kurdus have been released by the Somali pirates," he said here on Sunday.
He said that Sinar Kudus had left the Somali waters at 1.10 pm local time or 5.10 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Sunday.
"The 20 Indonesian crew members are reported to be in good health and in safety condition. The crew members have fully taken control of the ship," David said.
The 20 MV Sinar Kudus crew members were released after being held hostage for 46 days. The release was achieved through a negotiation process.
MV Sinar Kudus was hijacked by the Somali pirates on March 16, 2011, about 512 kilometers north of East Socotra in the Somali waters with a crew of 31, including 20 Indonesians.
The ship which has a deadweight of 8,911 tons was pirated during its sail to deliver ferro nickel to Rotterdam.
In the meantime, foreign ministry`s spokesman Michael Tene said he has yet to confirm the release of MV Sinar Kudus by the Somali pirates. He said agreement on releasing the vessel was just between the ship`s owners and the pirates.
Michael also cannot explain about payment of the ransom of 4.5 million US dollars, adding that such agreement was purely between the company and the pirates.
The pirates said they had freed the ship after the ransom had been dropped on them by the air.
"We received the 4.5 million US dollars ransom in the small hours of Sunday. We have left the ship and Sinar Kudus was set to start sailing," one of the pirates who told Reuters his name was Geney from a coastal village of El Dhanane, said.(*)
(T.A014/)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
