ATHENS (Greece) - SOMALI pirates have released a Greek-owned tanker that was hijacked in September, a Greek government spokesman said on Saturday.

The tanker MV Genius was released Friday with its cargo of refined oil intact and the crew of 19 safe, Merchant Marine Ministry spokesman Constantine Gialelis said. He said the ship's owners would not provide any information, including whether ransom was paid.

The 6,765 gross-ton vessel is on its way to the United Arab Emirates and is about 500 miles (800 kilometres) off Somalia, Gialelis said. The crew are Georgian, Sri Lankan and Syrian citizens, he added.

Somali pirates seized the vessel Sept 26 in the Gulf of Aden near the Horn of Africa, waters that have become highly dangerous for shipping.

In the past two weeks, Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates have seized eight vessels, including a huge Saudi supertanker loaded with US$100 million (S$152 million) worth of crude oil. Several hundred crew are now in the hands of Somali pirates. The pirates dock the hijacked ships near the eastern and southern Somali coast and negotiate for ransom.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991. When an umbrella Islamic group, which included the al-Shabab, controlled most of southern Somalia for six months in 2006, there were few reports of piracy. -- AP