Mogadishu:
Somali pirates on Monday freed the Greek supertanker VLCC Maran Centaurus, one of the largest ships ever hijacked, after a plane dropped at least five million dollars in ransom on the deck.
The ransom, also one of the largest ever paid, sparked a deadly feud within the group of pirates delaying the release of the ship and its crew of 28 seamen who were taken in the Indian Ocean on November 29.
"She's free. She's preparing to sail out" from the pirate lair of Harardhere, Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme told AFP.
Pirate sources in Harardhere said the huge ship was still anchored off Harardhere on Monday apparently receiving last-minute technical assistance from a nearby foreign warship.
Ecoterra International, an environmentalist NGO that monitors illegal maritime activity in the region, said the last pirates left the very large crude carrier (VLCC) early on Monday.
"The stash of the record-breaking ransom (over seven million dollars) is reportedly now held in a heavily guarded house in Harardhere," the group said in a statement.
It added that pirates reportedly bragged about generously giving $500 to each crew member -- 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and a Romanian -- "for good cooperation".