Company lawyer says Somali pirates release Turkish ship months after hijacking off Somalia

Somali pirates release hijacked ship off Somalia

ANKARA, Turkey — A Turkish shipping company’s lawyer says Somali pirates have freed a Turkish ship months after it was hijacked.

Karya company lawyer Nilgun Yamaner told CNN-Turk television the Malta-flagged MV Frigia is sailing to meet a Turkish navy ship that patrols the Gulf of Aden along with ships from the EU Naval Force, NATO and the U.S.

The ship had been carrying fertilizer from Israel to Thailand when it was hijacked in March.

Yamaner gave no information Thursday on the state of the ship’s crew of 19 Turks and two Ukrainians. Turkish authorities said the ship was sailing toward Oman’s western town of Salalah.

Anatolia news agency quotes Yamaner as saying it “was set free after negotiations.” She did not say if a ransom was paid.