Pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons have received a ransom and have freed the vessel.

Ukraine's president confirmed that the  ship held by pirates off the coast of Somalia since September has been freed.

The brief statement by the office of President Viktor Yushchenko came a day after reports that a ransom had been paid to the pirates holding the MV Faina.

The statement did not refer to a ransom, but said the ship was freed as the result of an operation involving special-services agents from Ukraine.

The Faina is loaded with military tanks and weapons.

The pirates seized the Kenya-bound MV Faina and its crew in September 2008.

It was the highest profile vessel in pirate custody, and there has been controversy over its cargo.

The Kenyan government says the tanks, rocket launchers and small arms are theirs, but the manifest suggests the arms were intended for South Sudan.

Gunmen took control of the MV Faina and its crew of 20 on 24 September 2008 as it headed for the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

It has since been moored off the town of Harardhere, along with a number of other vessels seized by the pirates.

Pirates had initially demanded a ransom of $20m, but reports suggest that a figure of $3.2m (£2.2m) was agreed.

The US navy said that a ransom appeared to have been dispatched on Wednesday and Mikhail Voitenko, said to be a spokesman for ship owner Vadim Alperin, later said that the pirates were "counting the haul".

Early on Thursday groups of pirates began leaving the vessel, reports from Haradhere said. Representatives of the pirates then told journalists that the ship had been freed.

"We have released MV Faina. There were only three boys remaining and they delayed the release for one hour, but now the ship is free," one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, told AFP by phone.

A number of warships from foreign navies had been diverted to the area to monitor the situation, in part to ensure that the cargo of weaponry did not get into the hands of Somali insurgents.

Once the ship is under way, the focus is likely to shift to its cargo of weapons and its final destination.