EU Atalanta operations spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy said that the release was made on humanitarian grounds. According to O'Kennedy after being aboard the Pohjanmaa since April 6th, no country had been found to prosecute or express an intent to prosecute the case. He was unwilling to report precisely where the 18 had been released.
"Personal items were returned to the Somali men before their release. Confiscated weapons and other items related to piracy were not returned to them," said the skipper of the Pohjanmaa, Commander Mika Raunu.
The Atalanta operation held talks with a number of states about taking the suspects, but none was willing to undertake investigations and prosecution.
Finland declined to investigate or prosecute as the suspects were not involved in any attack on Finnish shipping or against Finnish nationals. The suspects were apprehended by the Pohjanmaa after an attack on a Singapore-registered vessel. The EU did not reach agreement on releasing the men to Singapore, because they could have possibly faced a death penalty in that country.
As late as on Wednesday, negotiations were carried out with Kenya, but without success.
The reason for negotiations with Kenya failing was not the sum in compensation demanded by Kenya, but rather that the country could not make a decision on prosecution within the required timescale, according to Atalanta operations spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy.
The minelayer Pohjanmaa will be taking part in the EU's anti-piracy operation until the end of this month, after which it will head back to Finland. A return to the Indian Ocean is still undecided, but Finnish naval officials say it is unlikely that the Pohjanmaa will return to patrolling the coast of Somalia again this year.