Italian ship was ransomed from the pirates

After seven months of captivity the Italian cargo ship Rosalia D'Amato was released from pirates. Pirates released the ship on Friday, November 25, 2011.

The vessel was hijacked in the waters of the Arabian Sea by the two boats with armed Somali pirates on April 21, 2011. 74 500-tonne cargo ship, owned by the Neapolitan Perseveranza company, was on the way from Brazil to the Iranian port of Bandar Imam Khomeini.

The ship is still stands in the territorial waters of Somalia, but the Italian authorities hope that the crew of Rosalia D'Amato will arrive in Oman in a few days. During the voyage the ship will be escorted by the Italian Navy ship.

6 Italian and 15 Philippines nationals were on board of the Rosalia D'Amato at the time of capture. However, their fate is still unknown.

Since February 2011 the pirates have been controlling one more Italian vessel - Savina Caylyn with a crew of 22 people.

The Somali coast during the last few years has been one of the most unsafe regions for sailing. Somali pirates capture ships for getting large ransoms. According to ansa.it, today in their hands are a several ships, which release cost is estimated at $80 million. Not so long ago, a number of world governments have signed an international agreement that provides for refusal to pay ransom for captured ships.

However, as reported by the Corriere della Sera publication, the ship was released after paying the ransom. It was thrown on the deck from a helicopter.
In order to combat piracy in the Arabian Sea in 2009 was created Ocean Shield program, which participants are NATO and Russian Navy warships.