Mohammad Sharif Panahandeh was captured from a fishing vessel in 2015. His captors released him in part because they believed that he would not survive, according to HSN negotiator John Steed. 

Sharif has been evacuated to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he will receive further medical attention before flying back to Iran. 

Three of Sharif's shipmates are still in captivity - the very last remaining hostages held by Somali pirates, according to HSN. At the peak of the Somali piracy epidemic in 2011, hijacking and kidnapping off the Horn of Africa was a serious threat. 

Maritime Business World