Dubai’s MV Iceberg 1 ship Hostages successfully freed

Twenty two hostages on board of an Emirati ship held by Somali pirates since March 2010 have been freed in a rescue operation, daily newspaper The National reported on Monday.

The rescue operation was launched by the Somali maritime police unit and started on December 10.

“The operation concluded successfully yesterday when all the hostages were released,” Abdrirashid Abbas Ali, project coordinator of the Puntland Maritime Police Force, was quoted as saying by The National.

The rescued crew members include eight Yemenis, five Indians, four Ghanaians, two Sudanese, two Pakistanis and one Filipino, the report said.

Azal shipping previously confirmed that one of the ship’s crew members died of malnutrition on October 2012, after the ship’s owner failed to meet a ransom deadline set by Somali pirates in July of the same year.