The chemical tanker Stolt Strength with 23 Filipino crew has been released by Somali pirates after hijacked five months ago, according to foreign news agencies.

Sea bandits seized the tanker on November 10, 2008 in the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean on its way to Kandla, India.

The Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Program on Tuesday confirmed that the ship and its Filipino crew were set free, without mentioning whether a ransom was paid.

The confirmation came after Capt. Dexter Custodio, spokesman for Sagana Shipping Inc., announced that the release of the chemical tanker in Manila, the Philippines, describing the rescue work as "difficult and protracted."

"They are no longer in the hands of the pirates ...That's the only thing we have been waiting for,'' said the spokesman.

On Monday, the World Food Program confirmed the release of the MV Sea Horse, after East African Seafarers' Assistance Program said the ship was set free on Friday at the payment of US$100,000.

The ship with 19 crew on board was hijacked on April 14 on its way to Mumbai, India, to pick up food for the aid group in Somalia.

Despite an international flotilla, Somali pirates have attacked more than 80 vessels this year, still holding at least 14 ships and more than 200 crew members.

After a brief lull apparently balking at the increasing presence of foreign warships against piracy, they made a comeback recently extending their attacks to a much larger area in the Indian Ocean, as far as off the Seychelles islands.

For almost two decades, Somalia has been in anarchy since its government was toppled by warlords in 1991, with its people living in chaos and poverty. A transitional government established in 2000 has been too weak to combat piracy stemming from the war-torn soil.

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2009)