An Indian vessel with 22 on board has been freed after five days after it was hijacked by pirates in West Africa, said a media report.
“I am happy to inform that Merchant Ship Marine Express with 22 Indian nationals on board has been released,” the report published in the Times of India quoted External Affarirs Minister Sushma Swaraj as having said.
The ship was also carrying 13,500 tonnes of gasoline, mentioned the report.
The ship went missing less than a month after another vessel, “MT Barret”, disappeared off the coast of Benin in January, and was later confirmed to have been hijacked, said the report.
The 22 crew of “MT Barret”, most of whom were Indians, were reportedly released after a ransom was paid, the report said.