Hamburg - The 13 crew members of a German gas tanker hijacked in January by pirates in the Gulf of Eden have been released, a Hamburg-based shipping company said Saturday.

The crew members - 12 Filipino and one Indonesian - were all healthy and unharmed, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement confirmed on their website.

Hamburg Abendblatt newspaper reported that a ransom had been paid.

The pirates were originally thought to have demanded 4.7 million euros (6.3 million dollars) to release the vessel, captured January 29.

The 100-metre-long tanker is resuming its original journey from Norway to Vietnam, the management company added. (dpa)