Somali pirates release ship with 16 Indians on board

MUMBAI: All the 16 Indian sailors onboard a hijacked vessel off Somalian coast have been released and are safe, the Directorate General of Shipping said on Sunday.

The vessel, MSV Al Rafiquei, which was hijacked at 10.30 hours yesterday, was released at 18:30 hours Indian time, the Directorate said in a release.

Prior to the release, the hijackers beat up the crew and also took away their mobiles, five barrels of petrol and 20 barrels of diesel, it said.

The vessel, which was sailing from Dubai to the next port of call Mogadishu in Somalia, was carrying rice, refined oil, wheat and general cargo.