Sailing Free

CAIRO, June 17, 2011 (AFP) – An Egyptian boat seized with its 22-member crew by pirates off the coast of Somalia in August 2010 has been freed, an Egyptian foreign ministry official said on Friday.

Abdel Hakam did not elaborate or give details on the health of the crew — 11 Egyptians, six Indians, four Pakistanis and a Sri Lankan.

He did not say whether a ransom was paid.

The Pakistani government helped Egypt secure the release of the Suez which docked in Oman, the official news agency MENA reported quoting Mohammed Abdel Hakam.