Somali pirates are reported to have released a Kuwaiti oil tanker held since late March.

A piracy watchdog group says the pirates were paid $12 million to release the ship.

The 29-member crew is said to be doing okay.

The MV Zirku was captured in the Gulf of Aden while sailing to Singapore from Sudan.

Somali pirates continue to terrorize shipping in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea and nearby waters, despite international naval patrols.

The pirates have hijacked dozens of ships and received hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments in the past few years.