Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Kyiv, August 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Hansa Stavanger, a German container vessel, with a crew of 24 sailors, which was freed by Somali pirates on August 3, is bound for a Kenyan port and should arrive in one or two days.

The pirates released the crew of the ship after holding them hostage for four months, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's press service reported. The crew also includes two Ukrainians Viacheslav Hnidenko and Yevhen Shapovalov

The condition of crewmen is satisfactory, the press service said.

The ministry also said that Somali pirates are holding 24 Ukrainian sailors on board the Greek ship Ariana, which was seized on May 2, 2009.

As reported, the pirates released the Hansa Stavanger for a ransom of $2.7 million on August 3.

Pirates seized the German-flagged vessel, operated by Hamburg-based Leonhardt & Blumberg, en route from Jebel Ali (the United Arab Emirates) to Mombasa (Kenya) on April 4, 2009.

The ship's crew includes Germans (including the ship's captain), Russians, Ukrainians, and Filipinos.