Eight Iranian seafarers have been released by Somali pirates after nearly nine months of being held in captive, but up to a dozen more are still at risk, according to Tehran Times.
The release came after negotiations were successful between Senegal’s embassy in Somalia and the pirates, but according to other media reports, up to a dozen more Iranian sailors taken from a different vessel are still being held hostage with a large ransom for their release.
Iranian Parliament representative, Ali Yar Mohammadi, said the seafarers have now been taken to the Senegalese embassy in Mogadishu.
Officials are continuing their efforts to secure the release of the remaining captives.
The news comes after it was revealed more crew were kidnapped at sea in 2016 than in any of the previous 10 years, despite global piracy reaching its lowest levels since 1998, the ICC International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) annual piracy report revealed at the start of this year.
Source: Port Technology