Pirates free ship five months on

Mogadishu, 21 April-(ANA)-Somali pirates have freed a chemical tanker and its crew of 23 Filipinos after holding them for five months.

The owner of the Stolt Strength said securing the release had been "difficult and protracted".

The ship was seized on 10 November last year in the Gulf of Aden while en route from Senegal to India. It is not known if a ransom was paid.

Somalia has had no stable government since 1991, fuelling the lawlessness that has allowed piracy to thrive. (ANA)

FA/ANA/21 April 2009---