Somali pirates on Thursday (16 March) released the Sri Lanka-flagged Aris 13 oil tanker without taking any ransom. The release followed a gunfight between the pirates and Somali maritime forces. In the first hijack of a commercial ship by Somali pirates since 2012, the freighter turned off its tracking system and diverted its course towards the Somali coast after sending a distress call upon being approached by high-speed boats on 13 March. The attackers are thought to have almost never let go of a ship and its crew without getting a ransom.
