Somali pirates on Sunday released a Greek-owned ship which was hijacked more than half a year ago, hours before hijacking another Greek ship in the Somali Basin, according to the European Union Naval Force - Somalia on Monday.

EU Naval Force spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy said pirates released the Marshall Islands flagged product tanker MV Motivator on early Sunday morning, approximately 160 nautical miles (296 kilometers) southwest of the island of Socotra near the coast of Somalia. It was originally hijacked on July 4, 2010 when it was in the Southern Red Sea.
"An EUNAVFOR ship assisted the crew immediately after their release," O'Kennedy said, adding that the 18 Filipino nationals were doing well. "According to the ship's Greek owners, the crew are reported to be as well as could be expected given the circumstances."

Hours later, on early Monday morning, the Cypriot-flagged and Greek-owned bulk carrier MV Eagle was attacked and pirated by a single skiff about 490 nautical miles (907 kilometers) southwest of Salaam in Oman. O'Kennedy said the pirates were firing small arms and a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) before boarding the vessel.

The 52,163 tonnes MV Eagle has a crew of 24 Filipinos and was on passage from Agabar in Jordan to Paradip in India. "There has been no contact with the ship since the attack," O'Kennedy added.

Currently, Somali pirates are holding at least 29 vessels with a total of 699 hostages, according to the European Union Naval Force - Somalia, which keeps a record of pirating incidents. Most hijackings usually end without casualties when a ransom has been paid. This, however, often takes many months.

In recent years, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships, taking in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom. Ships are patrolling the shipping lanes near Somalia in an effort to reduce hijackings, but the anti-piracy force has warned that attacks are likely to continue.

According to a recent study, maritime piracy cost the global economy up to $12 billion last year, with Somalia-based pirates responsible for 95 percent of the costs.