Mumbai, Mar 22 : An Indian ship, which was hijacked off the coast of Somalia, has been released today, by the pirates.

The ship had 16 Indians onboard. No harm was caused by the pirates to Indians on board the vessel.

The ship was hijacked on March 21, while it was travelling between Dubai and Mogadishu carrying rice, refined oil, wheat and general cargo.

According to sources, the coalition forces and the Indian Navy vessel operating in Gulf of Aden were informed about the incident and were asked to provide assistance.

Earlier, the MT Stolt Valor, with 22 crewmembers including 18 Indians, was hijacked by a group of Somali pirates off the Yemen coast on September 15, 2008 while it was bound for Mumbai from the Suez Canal.

The pirates took the Japanese-owned vessel to the Somali coast and demanded a ransom of six million dollars. They released the ship on November 16 after reportedly collecting 2.5 million dollars from the ship''s owners. (ANI)