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Somali pirates set free Saudi ship: media

Arab World Materials 9 December 2010 00:37 (UTC +04:00)

A tanker owned by Saudi Arabia was released by Somalia pirates, media reports quoted maritime officials as saying on Wednesday.

The ship was seized in March, reports said.

Somalia is at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping channels, Xinhua reported.

The country has been plagued by factional fighting between warlords and has not had a functioning central administration since the 1991 ouster of former leader Mohammed Siad Barre.

International military officials have vowed to fight Somali pirates who have moved into the waters off the coast of East Africa, as attacks begin to decrease.

Crews have been successfully repelling more attacks, making it harder for pirates to capture ships and earn multi-million-dollar ransoms. But the pirates have responded more violently.

Many ship owners are investing in physical defenses like stringing razor wire and adding fire hoses that can hit attackers with streams of high-pressure water.

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