Somali pirates free Malaysian tugboat after seven months

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Nairobi: A European Union naval spokesman said over the weekend pirates have freed a Malaysian tugboat they held for more than seven months.
Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Auwermann said the Somali pirates released Masindra 7 on Saturday. He said the master of the tugboat told a German navy vessel that all 11 Indonesian crew members are in good health.
Auwermann said Sunday that Masindra 7 is sailing to Male, the capital of Maldives. The tugboat belongs to a Malaysian company, Masindra Shipping Pvt. Ltd. It was seized in mid-December on the way back to Malaysia from Mukallah in Yemen, where it had been operated under a contract from French oil-giant TOTAL. [03/08/09]