The Dogan agency quotes Fatih Kabal, an official of Bergen Shipping based in Istanbul, as saying the pirates left the MV Yasin C which was seized Wednesday 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the Kenyan coast.

Kabal said Saturday that the crew had locked themselves up in the engine room and realized that the pirates had left the ship on Friday. He said crew members, who were unharmed, took the damaged ship to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

Somali pirates have been known to give up on ships they believe have no ransom value, such as vessels owned or hired by Somali traders.

More than a dozen ships and their crew are believed to be currently held by pirates off the lawless coast of Somalia.