MADRID, Spain (CNN)  — All 36 crew members of a Spanish fishing boat hijacked by Somali pirates more than a month ago have been freed along with their vessel, the Spanish prime minister said Tuesday.

“Our sailors of the Alakrana are free and will come home,” Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced in a news conference. “These tough weeks have ended in a very positive way.”

Zapatero did not mention any payment of ransom, despite reports in Spanish media that a ransom was paid. CNN sister station CNN+ cited a single source, which it said was close to the negotiations, that said a ransom had been paid.

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