PETALING JAYA, Malaysia -- The 80 crew members of Malaysian tanker MT Bunga Melati Dua and MT Bunga Melati Lima arrived home early Saturday morning, less than a week after Somali pirates released them in exchange for a ransom.

Sources said the seafarers were flown in around 4:00 a.m. via a special flight and brought to a hotel in Subang Jaya, where they were reunited with their families.

MT Bunga Melati Dua, with 29 Malaysians and 10 Filipinos onboard, was hijacked off the lawless Somalia on August 19. One Filipino crewman was killed by a stray bullet when pirates boarded the ship, which was carrying palm oil and sailing to Rotterdam.

Ten days later, MT Bunga Melati Lima, carrying 36 Malaysians and five Filipinos crewmembers, was seized in the Gulf of Aden.

The ships were released by Somali pirates after a ransom was paid. Media reports claimed the firm had paid $2million ransom for the release of each vessel.

A relative of one of the crew members said the owner of the ships, MT Bunga Melati, had invited them to spend Thursday night at the hotel, in anticipation of the arrival of their loved ones.

She said the crew members and their families were debriefed at the hotel ballroom, and warned not to speak to the media.

?I don?t see why not, as he is now back safe and sound,? she said.

One crew member, relating the incident, said the pirates had seized their valuables, and food was rationed during their period in confinement.

Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991 and has suffered continuing civil strife. Pirates target foreigners as they can be exchanged for large ransoms.

Since January, Somali pirates have attacked 63 ships, 26 of those ships have been hijacked and pirates are now holding 12 ships with more than 200 crew onboard, the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur said. The Star-ANN with a report from Agence France-Presse