ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish chemical tanker hijacked off the coast of Yemen last year has been released by its Somali hijackers, a source from the company which owns the ship said on Tuesday.

The Karagol, with 14 Turkish crew on board, had been transporting more than 4,000 tonnes of chemicals to the port of Mumbai when it was seized on November 12.

"The ship was released last night and everyone on board is fine ... The pirates were persuaded to let them go," the source from YDC Maritime Co told Reuters, declining to specify whether a ransom was paid.

Last week, Somali pirates released another Turkish cargo ship hijacked in October after its owners paid a ransom. That vessel, MV Yasa Neslihan, then continued its journey to China with its cargo of iron ore.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean shipping lanes has sent insurance prices soaring, forced some owners to decide to go around South Africa instead of through the Suez Canal, and brought an unprecedented deployment of foreign warships to the region.