An Italian tugboat was freed after being held for nearly four months by Somali pirates, a regional maritime official confirmed on Monday.

Andrew Mwangura, East Africa's Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP) said the ship and its crew were released Sunday.

"The Italian tugboat with her 16 crew members is free. She is now underway to Djibouti," he told Xinhua by phone.

The tugboat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on April 11 with 10 Italians, five Romanians and one Croat on board.

Piracy has become rampant off the coast of Africa, especially in the waters near Somalia, which has been without an effective government since 1991.

An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern coast. Over 10 ships and 200 crew members are still held by Somali pirates.

The Gulf of Aden, off the northern coast of Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world. About 25,000 ships use the channel south of Yemen, between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2009)