Mogadishu, (insidesomalia.org) - The latest news from the piracy front: the 15–member crew of the German ship the MV Lehmann Timber, seized off the coast of Somalia May 28, has been released after the ship’s owner paid a ransom. Four of the hostages had been reported to be gravely ill, and a negotiating deadline set by the pirates expired yesterday. Via RIA Novosti: The Lehmann Timber was seized in the Gulf of Aden on May 28. The crew taken hostage included: the Russian captain, and a crew of four Ukrainians, one Estonian and nine Myanmar nationals.

The pirates are reported to have set July 7 as the ransom deadline and promised to kill the crew if it was not paid. Although shots were heard from the vessel late on Monday, the captain, who was in touch with the Ukrainian authorities, said the pirates fired in the air probably trying to scare the crew and negotiators.

“Today, at 5 a.m., the ransom was brought to the Lehmann Timber board.

The pirates counted the money for several hours and then the vessel headed to the closest port. The exact sum of money is unknown, but the hostages said that the bandits had demanded $750,000,” the Segodnya newspaper said on its website.

This incident is only one of the many attacks on ships off the coast of Somalia, where political chaos has allowed piracy to develop into a flourishing industry.

The UN authorized foreign governments to pursue and attack pirates in those lawless waters, but most governments seem to prefer letting ship owners pay off the hijackers.

A German family was seized from their yacht in the Gulf of Aden June 24, and is being held in the mountains between the regions of Somaliland and Puntland.

While no one likes the idea of paying ransom to pirates, there is really no alternative in the face of the refusal of most countries to confront and defeat the pirates.

The French provided a refreshing counter-example with the April Ponant raid, but this has sadly been the sole exception to a long string of capitulations.

If governments lack the will to rescue their citizens who are kidnapped while performing their legitimate business, then the ship owners cannot be faulted for doing what is in their power to protect their crews.

Source: Poli Gazette