Somali pirates seize German vessel, free Greek ship

By Helen Nyambura-Mwaura

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Somali pirates seized a 31,000-tonne German grain carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, a Kenyan maritime official said.

Pirates also released the Greek vessel, MV Saldanha, after they were paid $1.9 million (1.3 million pounds) in ransom, a pirate source said.

The Malta-flagged, German-owned MV Patriot belongs to Patriot Schiffahrts and is managed by Blumenthal JMK of Hamburg, Germany, said Andrew Mwangura, director of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers Assistance Program.

"I hear it was taken early this morning," he told Reuters. "It was hijacked in the eastern end of the Gulf of Aden."

The ship's 17 crew members are unhurt, Mwangura said.

The Foreign Ministry in Berlin could not confirm the German vessel had been seized but said it was investigating.

A pirate told Reuters his comrades had also released a Greek ship but he could not give its name.

"My friends have released the Greek ship after $1.9 million ransom was paid," said the pirate, identified only as Hussein.