The 47-day hostage crisis ended Tuesday when pirates freed the ship and its crew of 36, after receiving a reported $3.3 million ransom payment.

Opposition leader Mariano Rajoy told reporters that Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's management of the crisis before, during and after the hijacking had been disastrous.

He said the government failed to heed warnings that Spanish tuna boats in the Indian Ocean lacked sufficient security, neglected families of the hostages during much of the crisis and "gave itself medals" when the ordeal concluded with the release of the hostages.

Rajoy also said he was surprised that Spanish naval forces overseeing the freeing of the ship and the hostages failed to arrest any of the fleeing brigands.

Two Spanish newspapers, El Mundo and El Pais, reported Wednesday that a Spanish helicopter based on a frigate watching over the hostage release opened fire on a skiff carrying the last of the pirates ashore to Somalia, hoping to disable it and catch them. The defense and foreign ministries declined to comment.

"The only thing the government can give itself a medal for is incompetence," Rajoy told reporters.

Jose Antonio Alonso, a spokesman for the ruling Socialist Party in Parliament, responded by saying the conservatives should be pleased the crisis is over and should be offering constructive suggestions on how to prevent a repeat, and instead is trying to use the ordeal for political gain.