KUALA LUMPUR - Somali pirates have released two Malaysian oil tankers and their crews in exchange for ransom a month after hijacking the vessels, a shipping company official said Tuesday.

 

"A ransom was paid for both the ships. We delivered the money with the help of the Malaysian navy. It was cash on delivery," Mohamad Hassan Marican, chairman of state-controlled MISC Bhd which owns the ships, told reporters.

 

Hassan declined to reveal the amount but local reports citing defense officials said four million dollars was paid for the two ships.

 

The MT Bunga Melati Dua was hijacked on August 19 in the Gulf of Aden with its crew of 29 Malaysian seafarers and 10 Filipinos. One Filipino crewman was killed by a stray bullet when pirates boarded the ship, which was carrying palm oil and sailing to Rotterdam.

 

Subsequently, on August 29 MT Bunga Melati 5 was captured in the same area with 36 Malaysian sailors and five Filipinos on board.

 

Hassan said the two ships were being escorted out of the pirate-infested waters to Djibouti.

 

"They are being escorted by our navy ships. The whole area is an unsecure area," he said.

 

Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991 and has suffered continuing civil strife. Pirates target foreigners as they can be exchanged for large ransoms.

 

Since January, Somali pirates have attacked 63 ships, 26 of those ships have been hijacked and pirates are now holding 12 ships with more than 200 crew onboard, the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur said.