NAIROBI, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Somali pirates have released Greek- owned MV Filitsa which was seized in the world's most dangerous waters in November last year, a regional maritime official confirmed on Tuesday.

Andrew Mwangura, East Africa's Coordinator of Seafarers Assistance program (SAP) said the Marshall Islands-flagged bulker which was freed late Monday is sailing towards Mombasa, east Kenya.

"The MV Filitsa is free and she is steaming out to safe waters under way to Mombasa port. All 22 crew members on board are said to be safe and sound," Mwangura told Xinhua.

MV Filitsa was seized on November 10, 2009 about 740 kilometers northeast of the Seychelles as it headed toward Durban, South Africa.

The Marshall Island-flagged carrier -- with three Greek, a Romanian and 18 Filipino crew members has deadweight of more than 23,000 tons of fertilizer.

The 1996-built ship which was lately held near Hobyo belongs to the Greek company Order Shipping Company Ltd, who had not provided the full crew-list, and so far has not yet confirmed the release.

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

The Horn of Africa nation is at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping channels.

The country has been plagued by factional fighting between warlords and hasn't had a functioning central administration since the 1991 ouster of former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.

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.