Somali pirates have released a Singapore-flagged container ship that had been held for nearly 10 weeks, an EU naval¹ force in the area says.

索马里海盗释放一艘挂着新加坡国旗的货柜船，据悉该船已被劫持将近10周。

The Kota Wajar had been held off the Somali coast

It said the Kota Wajar, which had 21 crew members, was freed off the Somali pirate stronghold要塞，大本营 of Haradere.

The force provided no details about the release, but said a Canadian warship² was providing it with medical and logistical后勤方面的，逻辑的 assistance.

Earlier, China said it had rescued 25 crew kidnapped by Somali pirates.

Beijing made no mention of a ransom赎金 payment, despite reports that $4m (£2.5m) was delivered to pirates on Sunday.

The Kota Wajar was seized on 15 October 300 nautical⁴ miles海里 north of Seychelles while it was sailing to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

Also on Monday, Yemen's defence ministry⁵ announced that a Yemeni cargo⁶ vessel⁷ with at least 15 people on board had been seized by Somali pirates.

It said the ship, the Al Mahmoud 2, had set off出发，动身 from Aden on 18 December.

The waters around Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world.

A recent surge汹涌，激增 in piracy⁸ has been blamed on the failure to find a solution to Somalia's political disputes.

Somalia has been without a functioning central government since 1991, and Islamists militants⁹ have taken control of most of the country.