Pirates operating around the Horn of Africa near Somalia have been struck a further blow after the Indian navy intercepted a hijacked Mozambiquan fishing vessel on Sunday and captured 61 pirates in the Arabian Sea.
It comes after Somali pirates admitted at the weekend they would have to lowering ransom demands to increase turnover of vessels and generate more income.
A statement from the Indian navy said a brief gunfight took place in what was its third anti-piracy operation this year. Last month the navy captured 28 Somali pirates and another 15 in January.
The navy ships also rescued 13 crew members of aboard the fishing vessel nearly 695 miles (1,100 kilometers) off the coast of Kochi in southern India.
The navy was checking whether the pirates were from Somalia or Yemen.
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Today a Bangladeshi shipping company reportedly paid Somali pirates US$4 million (£2.49 million) to free one of its ships hijacked late last year off the coast of India.
At the weekend it was reported that armed pirate gangs, who have made millions of dollars seizing ships off the Somali coast, were currently holding more than 30 ships.
Pirates admitted that they were holding ships for an average of 150 days and in the past had generated as much as US$9.5 million (£8.24 million).
The latest ship to be released was taken on 6 December 2010, was carrying nickel and had 25 Bangladeshi crew and the wife of the chief engineer on board.
Meherul Karim, the general manager of Brave Royal Shipping Company which owns the ship, said the vessel, the M.V. Jahan Moni, was freed early Monday morning.
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“We are relieved now. The vessel and all 26 Bangladeshis aboard the ship are safe. The ship has just left the Somali coast and headed to Oman,” he said.
While the pirates have said they intend to reduce ransoms for the ships they capture, the value placed on each ship depended on the ship’s value, its cargo and the length of time it was held.
They said ransoms for bulk ships would not be lowered.
“We have changed our previous strategies. We have altered our operations and ransom deals with modern business deals,” a pirate, who identified himself has Abdullahi, told Reuters from the port town of Haradhere.
Piracy in the area is a growing concern since 2007 when young Somalis in small skiffs armed with AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades began taking ships and the ransoms being earned are being shared with Islamist rebel group Al Shabaab, which professes loyalty to al Qaeda.