Somali Pirates Release UK-Flagged Ship St James Park With Two Romanians Aboard

A ransom drop was made Thursday morning to the pirate group holding the St James Park at anchorage at Garacaad.

St James Park is a British Flagged chemical tanker with deadweight of 13,924 tonnes, and has three Filipinos, three Russians, one Georgians, two Romanians, five Bulgarians, two Ukrainians, one Polish, six Indians and three Turkish.

The Somali-based gangs have made tens of millions of dollars from hijacking vessels and holding them until a ransom is paid, despite patrols by foreign navies.

International navies have been deployed in the Gulf of Aden following a series of attacks on foreign vessels in one of the world’s most important trade routes.