Somalia, Dec. 3 -- Somali pirates have released a Yemeni cargo ship without ransom after negotiating with local elders, a Somali official said Wednesday.

Aliabdi Aware, a minister in the northern Somali region of Puntland, said the ship was awaiting refueling in an area fishing village, CNN reported. The crew and the ship were safe, he said.

Aware said hijackers freed the ship after elders negotiated for the crew's release.

Pirates have attacked nearly 100 vessels and hijacked about 40 in the area this year, the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center said.

A multinational fleet, including vessels from the United States, NATO members, Russia and India, has been patrolling the Indian Ocean waters near the Gulf of Aden, CNN said. About 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels travel the shipping route annually.(UPI)