Somali pirates have released a Belgian dredging ship and its crew two months after they were captured, the Belgian prime minister has said.

"We were... informed that the entire crew is in good health," Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy said in a statement.

Officials say a ransom was paid for the release of the ship, MV Pompei, and its 10 crew: a Dutch captain, two Belgians, three Filipinos, and four Croats.

It was hijacked on 18 April some 150km (93 miles) north of the Seychelles.

The Pompei was the first Belgian ship to be seized by Somali pirates.

At the time of its capture, it had been on its way to South Africa from Dubai, where it was helping to build artificial islands.

Defence Minister Pieter De Crem told reporters in Brussels that 10 pirates had abandoned the ship early on Sunday, a day after a plane dropped the ransom cash into the sea near the Pompei, reported AP news agency.

Belgian officials said the money had been paid by the insurance company of the ship, and that the goverment had provided assistance in the long drawn-out negotiations.

The director of the Belgian government's crisis centre, Jaak Rase told the BBC: "This was the only way to free and to put an end to this hijacking."

He added:"About 160 contacts we had by telephone, and all the time there were discussions about the ransom."

source: BBC News