An Italian tugboat crew seized by Somali pirates in April has been released, according to the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told Italian TV he was informed of the ship's release by the Somali prime minister.
Mr Frattini said a combined effort of "exceptional work" from Somali authorities and Italian intelligence services led to the crew of 16 being freed.
The boat is now heading to Djibouti escorted by navy vessels.
The manager of the company which owns the Buccaneer said the vessel was not freed as a result of military action and no ransom was paid.
The Italian foreign ministry released a statement expressing "great satisfaction with the positive solution of the hijacking of cargo ship Buccaneer and the freeing of Italians on board".
It said the release came after a long process of contacts with Somali authorities and collaboration of the Puntland authorities.
After being hijacked the crew of 10 Italians, five Romanians and one Croatian were taken to a fishing village in northern Somalia.
Las Qoray lies between the semi-autonomous Puntland area of Somalia and the breakaway region of Somalialand.
Puntland has recently become an infamous base for pirates, responsible for hijacking dozens of ships from the shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden.
Topic: Somali Pirates Release Hijacked Italian Boat (Read 985 times)