MADRID (Reuters) — A Spanish court said it would free one of two suspected Somali pirates captured after the hijacking of a Spanish fishing boat because he appeared to be under 18 years old.

The immediate future of the suspect, whose name was erased from the official court document announcing the decision because his age could be less than 18, will now be in the hands of Spain's juvenile justice system, which could send him to a juvenile correction centre.

The two Somalis were captured by the Spanish navy in the Indian Ocean shortly after the tuna boat Alakrana was overrun on October 2 and its multinational crew of 36 taken hostage. The pirates still in control of the boat, whose home port is in the Basque country in northern Spain, have said they will not negotiate the crew's release until their two comrades are freed.

Spain has tried to enlist the support of Somalia's beleaguered government to obtain the liberation of the Alakrana.

Despite patrols by foreign navies through shipping lanes linking Asia to Europe, pirates have continued to make millions of dollars by holding for ransom vessels caught in the waters off Somalia.