Somali pirates free weapons ship

Somali pirates today said they had freed a ship carrying tanks and other heavy weapons after receiving a £2.2m (€2.5m) ransom.

A pirate spokesman said they were leaving the Ukrainian MV Faina slowly because the waters were “a bit turbulent.”

“Our plan is to abandon the ship today, by early evening at the latest,” he said from the central Somali coastal town of Harardhere, near where the ship is anchored.

There had been fears its arms would fall into the hands of al-Qaida-linked Somali insurgents.