Somali pirates free North Korean chemical tanker

Somali pirates freed a North Korean chemical tanker and its 28 crew Tuesday after the owners delivered a ransom, the European Union Naval Force said. The MV Theresa VIII was hijacked last November, northwest of the island nation of the Seychelles. The vessel had not asked for assistance but warships were monitoring the situation, said Cmdr. John Harbour. He could not provide details on the ransom. Also on Tuesday, the EU Naval Force said it intercepted two pirate groups. The two groups, each consisting of a mothership and two skiffs, were tracked by maritime patrol aircraft after commercial ships reported attempted attacks. Seventeen pirates in total had been detained, Harbour said. One of the attacks took place nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from the Somali coast and the other one was northwest of the Seychelles.