The Comoros-flagged Aris 13 and its eight Sri Lankan crew were recovered by local officials KEVIN FINNIGAN/APAn oil tanker which was hijacked by pirates on Monday has been released thanks to an offer the attackers “couldn’t refuse”. The Comoros-flagged Aris 13 and its eight Sri Lankan crew were recovered by local officials from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region after a firefight in which five to six people were said to have been injured. A former British army officer who has spent years negotiating the release of piracy hostages in Somalia confirmed that Puntland forces had freed the ship. “They made [the pirates] an offer they couldn’t refuse and the pirates have left,” he said. The pirates had been made aware that powerful Somali business interests were involved with the shipment of fuel from…

Source: The Times March 17, 2017 00:33 UTC