- Title: KENYA: Crew from German ship freed by pirates last week leave for Germany
- Date: 11th August 2009
- Summary: MOMBASA, KENYA (AUGUST 10, 2009) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HOTEL WHERE CREW WAS STAYING SECURITY AT HOTEL ENTRANCE HOTEL NAME VEHICLES AT HOTEL ENTRANCE WITH GUESTS JOURNALISTS MOVING AROUND THE HOTEL ENTRANCE CREW OF GERMAN SHIP, HANSA STAVANGER IN A MINI BUS LEAVING HOTEL MINI BUS SPEEDS OFF
- Embargoed: 26th August 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Reuters ID: LVA8ZV52HVE9FNKWA0D43CWR6DNP
- Story Text: The crew of a German container ship held by Somali pirates for four months left Kenya for Germany on Monday (August 10) after the ship docked at the country's main port over the weekend.
Pirates freed the Hansa Stavanger, which is owned by the Hamburg shipping company Leonardt & Blumberg, on Monday last week after saying they had received a $2.7 million ransom.
The 20,000-tonne Hansa Stavanger was hijacked on April 4 about 650 km (400 miles) off the southern Somali port of Kismayu with 14 Filipinos, five Germans, three Russians and two Ukrainians on board. All were in good health on Saturday (August 08) when they left the ship and were replaced by another crew.
Last month, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported the hostages were in a desperate state with no water, food or medicine, citing emails from the ship's captain to his wife.
The captain wrote in one message that the pirates had become impatient when ransom negotiations stalled at the end of April and had threatened to kill the crew, Der Spiegel reported.
Gangs of Somali pirates target vessels using the shipping lanes linking Europe to Asia through the Gulf of Aden, making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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