Somali pirates released on Thursday a Ukrainian vessel filled with arms after a $3.2 million ransom was paid, according to reports from Somalia.

The pirates captured the M/V Faina and held its crew of 21 on Sept. 25, 2008 while the ship was sailing for Kenya. They initially asked for a $20 million (14 million euro) ransom, but lowered the amount later.

Aboard the ship were 33 T-72 Soviet-made battle tanks, 150 grenade launchers, 6 anti-aircraft guns, small arms and plenty of ammunition. The Kenyan government insisted it owns the shipment, although the manifest declared it was bound for South Sudan. The pirates, as they left, took seven Russian-style machine guns with them from the ship's cargo.

BBC quoted Mikhail Voitenko, spokesman of vessel owner Vadim Alperin, that the pirates were counting money, to indicate payment of the ransom. But Sugule Ali, one of the pirate leaders, insisted it was not a ransom, but payment to cover their expenses while holding the arm-laden ship at the port of Harardhere.

According to the Ukraine government, the 20 crew made up of 17 Ukrainians, two Russians and a Latvian are safe and healthy. But the ship captain, a Russian, had a heart attack and died after the vessel was seized. The ship is sailing towards the Mombasa port under the protection of the U.S. Navy.