Hijacked Italian crew 'fine'

ROME, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The captain of an Italian ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia said the 18-member crew is "fine."

"We are anchored off the Somali coast and the crew is fine," Captain Agostino Musumeci said Friday.

The oil tanker, the Enrico Ievoli, was captured near the coast of Oman, Italy's ANSA news Agency reported.

Last week, another Italian oil tanker, the Savina Caylyn, was freed after being hijacked by Somali pirates in February.

Officials estimate pirates in the region made $80 million from ransom money in 2010. Earlier this year, governments reached an agreement that they would no longer pay ransoms.