The persons held by the pirates were of Bulgarian, Polish, Greek, Romanian and Spanish nationality.

Two persons were held on the fishing vessels and nineteen on the merchant vessels.

The seamen who were and/or are in pirate custody have been held for a total of 471 days as of 24 June 2010. On that date, three of the seamen remaining in pirate custody held the nationality of an EU Member State. One seaman of Greek nationality has already been in custody for 64 days. One seaman of Spanish nationality and one of Polish nationality have each been in custody for 63 days.

Negotiations on the release of kidnapped seamen usually take place between the ship-owners and the pirates. Therefore the Council is not in a position to comment on any negotiations that may be taking place.