Ransom paid for release of trawler from pirates

Somali pirates freed a Spanish fishing boat and its 26-member crew after a ransom of $1.2m was paid, a Somali official said.

Spanish officials did not confirm that a ransom was paid before yesterday’s release, saying only that there had been negotiations. But Abdi Khalif Ahmed, chairman of Haradhere port local authority in central Somalia, said a ransom was paid before the pirates released the ship.