Not the ending the pirates were expecting...

Somali pirates finally released the oil tanker Sirius Star on Friday after receiving a $3 million ransom payment from the ship’s owners. But things didn't end happily for all the pirates - six of them drowned, along with their share of the ransom payment, when their overloaded speedboat capsized after leaving the tanker.

The payment ends the two-month saga of the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, the largest ship ever captured by pirates. But even the end of the hijacking tale had a surreal, Hollywood-esque feeling to it, the ransom payment was delivered to the ship by parachute from a low-flying plane. The crew of the Sirius Star is reported to be safe and the ship is now on its way back to Saudi Arabia.

The Somali pirates also released an Iranian-owned freighter also captured in November, no word on whether a ransom was paid for that ship as well. The pirates are still holding 17 ships and more than 200 crew, including a Ukrainian-owned ship carrying three-dozen Soviet-era tanks. More than 100 ships were attacked off the coast of Somalia last year.