Awwal 06, 1432 H/Feb 09, 2011, SPA -- Somali pirates have released a South Korean fishing boat with 43 crew members, after four months in captivity, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday. The ship was sailing away from Somalia towards international waters, and a vessel from the European Union's anti-piracy programme in the region was requested to escort the boat, dpa quoted the ministry as saying. The 241-ton trawler, Keummi 305, was hijacked by pirates on October 9 near the Kenyan island of Lamu in the Indian Ocean. The vessel had been fishing in area for about a month. The crew included two South Koreans, two Chinese nationals and 39 Kenyans. There was no immediate information on how the release was secured or whether a ransom was paid, the Yonhap news agency reported.
