Somali pirates release oil supertanker

Nairobi: Somali pirates released an oil supertanker and its crew of 28 on Monday after a rival pirate group attacked the pirates onboard in an unsuccessful attempt to the ransom, the European Union naval force said.

The Maran Centaurus was hijacked on Nov. 29 about 800 miles (1,300 kilometres) off the Somali coast.

It was carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil from Saudi Arabia destined for the United States, estimated to be worth roughly $150 million at the time of the attack.

Cmdr. John Harbour, the spokesman for the European Union's anti-piracy force, said a group of rival pirates had attacked the Greek-flagged Maran Centaurus just before the ransom was being delivered, prompting the pirates onboard the tanker to call for assistance from the anti-piracy force.

Harbour said the EU naval force did not intervene, but declined to give details on the actions of other warships in the area. In a statement later, the EU naval force said it dispatched a helicopter to provide any immediate medical assistance to the crew on the ship that is now under naval escort as it leaves Somali waters.

A Somali middleman, who helped negotiate for the release of the ship, says pirates collected $5.5 million Sunday afternoon and left the ship Monday morning. The middleman spoke on condition of anonymity because he said he feared reprisals.

In a statement, the ship's owner declined to give any details about how it negotiated the release of the Maran Centaurus. The Maran Tankers Management Inc. said the crew are safe and well.