The French govermnent says that the 30 crew members on board the highjacked Compagnie des Iles du Ponant-owned Le Ponant have been freed without any incident. Freeing Le Ponant crew from their Somali hijackers took long and intense negotiations with a reported $2 million dollar ransom being paid.

Part of the amount may already be back in the hands of Compagnie des Iles du Ponant because four French army helicopters managed to stop the pirates on shore by shooting in the engine of the vehicle they had boarded.

According to French press reports once the vehicle was disabled by the shooting another helicopter landed nearby and captured the six pirates in the vehicle. No one was seriously injured. The six pirates are now being transferred into the French justice system.