By XINHUA

Somali pirates have released a Danish coaster after two years in captivity, a Kenyan maritime official has said.

Seafarers’ Union of Kenya Secretary General Andrew Mwangura said the M/V Leopard, which was captured in January 2011, was released on Tuesday with six member crew.

“The two Danish and the four Philippine seamen have very recently been released off the Somali coast and are now in safe surroundings,” Mwangura said on Wednesday.

The move comes as the number of attacks off the coast of Somalia is reported to have drastically reduced with only five incidents cited in the first quarter of 2013.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) have however warned of complacency in their quarterly report for January-March, saying the risk of attacks still exists.

“Although the number of acts of piracy reported in Somalia has significantly decreased, there can be no room for complacency,” IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan said on April 15.

Mukundan said the drop in reported attacks is due to proactive naval actions against suspect Pirate Action Groups, the employment of privately contracted armed security personnel and the preventive measures used by the merchant vessels (as per latest Best Management Practices recommendations).

The Danish owned vessel was attacked by pirates on January 12, 2011. During the attack two Danish sailors and four Filipino crew members of the vessel were kidnapped from the ship and taken ashore in Somalia.

Later the ship and cargo of weapons was recovered by NATO warships by, but there was no indication of the crew’s whereabouts.