A spokesman for the EU counter-piracy operation "Atalanta" told news agency AFP on Monday that the ship "Hansa Stavanger" had been released and had left the Somali port city of Haradhere, accompanied by an EU warship. Shortly afterwards the release was confirmed by the German government.

"I have learned with great relief that the crew of the Hansa Stavanger has been freed," said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a statement, which added that the crew members were well.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed "relief and joy" that the ship and its crew had been released, a government spokeswoman said in Berlin.

Media reports said a plane had dropped a package containing the ransom of $2.7 million over the seized ship.

The amount was confirmed by the the pirate gang responsible for the seizure.

"We have received $2.7 million from the owners," Muse Guled told the DPA press agency by phone from Haradhere.

The German-flagged container vessel, owned by Hamburg-based shipping company Leonhardt & Blumberg, was captured about 400 nautical miles (740 km, 460 miles) off the southern Somali port of Kismayu on April 4.

The ship's crew includes five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians, two Filipinos and 12 Tuvaluans.

Worsening situation

German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported last week that the situation on board the ship had dramatically worsened. There was a lack of fresh water, food and medicines, the magazine said, adding that several hostages had been taken to the Somali mainland.

The German government is reported to have orginally planned to free the ship with its elite commando GSG-9 police force. But Berlin then abandoned the plan because it was considered too risky.

The release of the Hansa Stavanger came hours after the European Union said that pirates had released a Malaysian tugboat, Masindra Seven, and its crew of 11 Indonesians on Sunday after being held captive for seven months.

Gangs of Somali pirates have made millions of dollars in ransom payments by kidnapping ships that sail the shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe.

sp/AFP/AP/dpa

Editor: Susan Houlton