Somali Pirates: Ransoms Paid - German, Malaysian Ships Freed

Somali pirates have a pay day and release a Malaysian onwed tug and a German owned container vessel , as reported here:

Somali pirates freed a German ship seized in April on Monday after receiving a ransom and a Malaysian-owned tug boat has also been released after being held for more than seven months.

The German-flagged container vessel Hansa Stavanger was captured about 400 miles off the southern Somali port of Kismayu on April 4 with 14 Filipinos, five Germans, three Russians and two Ukranians on board.

"We are now in Haradheere town. We left the ship after we took the money," pirate Hassan told Reuters by telephone from the Somali piracy haven. "I believe it has sailed away."

The pirates said earlier on Monday they had received a $2.7 million ransom for the release of the 20,000 ton ship, owned by Hamburg shipping company Leonardt & Blumberg.

And here:

Somali pirates have freed a Malaysian tugboat and its 11 Indonesian sailors after a ransom was paid to end the second longest hijacking off the coast of Somalia, a maritime watchdog said Monday.

The tugboat TB Masindra 7 and its attached Indonesian barge ADM 1 had been operating under a contract from French oil giant Total when it was seized eight months ago on December 16, said Kenya-based Ecoterra International.

"The Malaysian tugboat TB Masindra 7 with its attached Indonesian barge ADM1 is free," the non-governmental organisation said in a statement.