Greek-owned ship with one Romanian sailor on board freed by Somali pirates

M/V Filitsa, the Greek-owned ship, carrying one Romanian sailor on board, has been freed two months and a half after it was captured, a Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) communiqué informs.

The cargo ship was captured by Somali pirates on November 16 2009. At that time, the ship’s company confirmed that a Romanian sailor was part of the 22 crew members.

According to existent procedures, the negotiations took place between the ship’s owners and the pirates. The case was hidden by a total discretion. Any mass-media apparition could endanger the prisoners’ lives.

MAE informs that the Romanian Embassy in Athens has monitored the case and he family of the Romanian citizen has been informed on the evolution of the case permanently. The embassy also told the family the Romanian sailor had been set free.

Plus, the Romanian Embassy in Athens kept a constant connection with the crisis cell formed by the ship’s owning-company, that handled negotiations, as well as with all Greek authorities, the communiqué shows.