Somali pirates released on Tuesday a Dutch ship they had hijacked last month in the Gulf of Aden and one crew member was found dead aboard the boat, the Dutch defence ministry told AFP.
"The pirates let the ship, in which a crew member was found dead, leave," ministry spokesman Marcel Pullen said. "He was shot dead."
The victim had died the day of the MV Marathon's capture on May 7, he added.
Another crew member suffered a bullet wound, Pullen said.
The MV Marathon was being escorted to a "safe port" by the Dutch frigate De Zeven Provincien, the spokesman said, refusing to reveal the location.
The ship, which had eight crew members, was carrying coke, a coal residue used in steel making.
Somali pirates still hold 14 ships carrying more than 200 sailors, nearly a quarter of them Filipinos, according to the latest figures from the International Maritime Bureau.
Western powers as well as Russia and Chinese authorities have deployed warships to battle piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Source: AFP
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