New Delhi - Five Indian crew members of a Japanese ship who spent two months as hostages of Somali pirates returned to the western city of Mumbai on Monday, officials said.

The free sailors from the ship MV Stolt Valor were received by relatives at the city's international airport on their arrival from Muscat.

The seamen said they were relieved at the "homecoming" after spending "two months at gunpoint."

"The only thing that kept me going was that one day I'll be back with my family," Naved Borundkar, 20, the youngest crew member told reporters.

"I am very happy to be back home. Words cannot express how I feel," he said.

The Stolt Valor, with a total of 22 crew members including 18 Indians, was captured by Somali pirates off the Yemen coast on September 15 while it was headed for Mumbai from the Suez Canal.

The pirates took the vessel to the Somali coast and demanded a ransom of 6 million dollars, local news reports said.

They released the ship on November 16 after reportedly getting 2.5 million dollars from the ship's owners.

"We had a harrowing time as there was no hope of release for quite some time. We were always on gunpoint 24 hours for two months. We had to get permission from them for everything," another crew member said.

He said the remaining crew members including the captain of the ship, Prabhat Goyal were to arrive later on Monday.

The surge in piracy off the Somali coast has prompted increased patrols by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia, US-led coalition forces, India and France.

In recent days, pirates seized four ships including the Sirius Star supertanker, carrying 100 million dollars' worth of oil.

Prior to the latest seizures, the International Maritime Bureau said there had been 92 attempts at piracy in the region this year, 36 of them successful.

Around 17 vessels are in the hands of pirates along with over 300 hostages.

London-based think tank Chatham House said in October that pirates had received an estimated 30 million dollars in ransoms this year.

Shipping firms and the international community are demanding stern action against the pirates, which seems to be slowly coming.

The Indian Navy last week destroyed a pirate mothership for the first time.

It has also received permission from the United Nations to actively pursue pirates in the Somali waters and is likely to deploy its second warship to tackle piracy in the region. (dpa)