(Adds background on nationalities)

NAIROBI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Somali pirates have released a commercial vessel they captured in September, a Kenyan shipping official said on Friday.

The Liberian flagged MV Genious, with 19 crew on board, was now on its way to safe waters, said Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Association.

Pirates had captured the vessel in September, he added, describing it as a Greek-owned chemical tanker. He said he believed a ransom had been paid to secure the release.

Interfax news agency said the crew included six Georgian citizens.

Mwangura said the crew were Romanians but the Romanian foreign ministry denied this.

"In September, at the moment when the capture of the ship Genious was reported, we ran investigations in Athens and we found out that none of the crew members were Romanian. However, we continue to investigate this case," Cosmin Boiangiu, foreign ministry spokesman, told Reuters.

There was no comment from the Greek authorities.

The vessel had been held close to the remote coastal village of Eyl, a pirate stronghold in the semi-autonomous province of Puntland.

An upsurge of attacks off the coast of lawless Somalia this year has forced up shipping insurance costs, made some firms go round South Africa instead of via the Suez Canal, brought millions in ransom payments, and prompted an international naval response. (Reporting by Wangui Kanina; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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