Pirates Free Saudi Tanker, Get $3M Ransom

A Saudi tanker taken by Somali pirates in November has been freed after a $3 million ransom was paid, a pirate negotiator said. Pirates have left the ship, which is now headed to safety. The Sirius Star, which carried 2 million oil barrels and 25 crew members, was the largest tanker ever abducted, the BBC reports.

“All our people have now left the Sirius Star. The ship is free, the crew is free,” a pirate told AFP. The pirates agreed to the $3 million yesterday, though they’d wanted more, said the negotiator.
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