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Less ransom for Zirku

Despite the claims of pirates, the ransom paid to release the “Zirku” apparently fell well short of the widely-quoted figure of $12 m. Pirates tend to talk the figures up. It is believed that the "Zirku" ransom probably comes somewhere between the $11.5 m paid for “Irene SL” and the $9.5 m paid for South Korean VLCC “Samho Dream” in 2010.

Zirku reached Salalah

The "Zirku" on June 16 at 9.30 a.m. safely has arrived in Salalah four days after its release. The crew which consists of 17 Pakistanis, three Jordanians, three Egyptians, two Ukrainians and one each from Croatia, India, Iraq and the Philippines were said to be in good health. Arrangements were being made by representatives of owners of the ship to send the crew to their respective home countries. The replacement crew have already arrived in Salalah.

$12 million ransom paid for Zirku

Somali pirates say they freed a UAE-flagged, Kuwaiti-owned oil tanker after a $12-million ransom was paid. The 105,846 dead weight tonne MV Zirku was captured on March 28 on its way to Singapore from Sudan with a crew of 29. “We have freed the oil tanker after we received $12 million ransom and it has already sailed away,” a pirate who gave his name as Rashid told Reuters late on Friday. Andrew Mwangura, a Kenya-based former maritime official and now maritime editor of the Somalia Report confirmed the release, saying the crew were safe, but said he was unable to confirm whether money had been paid. Somali pirates are making millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, despite the efforts of foreign navies to clamp down on such attacks. Maritime piracy costs the global economy $12 billion a year according to researchers.