By Ben Berkowitz
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Somali pirates freed a Dutch freighter Tuesday, but one of the Ukrainian crew was shot dead by the pirates, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said.
Another crew member was shot and wounded, a spokesman for the ministry told Reuters. Dutch marines were providing medical assistance and escorting the Marathon to neutral waters, nearly two months after it was captured in the Gulf of Aden.
It was not clear how or why the vessel was freed. The Foreign Ministry spokesman said force was not used but could not comment on whether a ransom was paid.
The Dutch owner-operator of the vessel, Cargadoor Amons & Co., declined to comment on the release or any ransom.
The Ukrainian embassy was not available for further comment. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry earlier cited it as saying the vessel had been released.
The 2,575-tonne Marathon was westbound through the Gulf of Aden when it was seized May 7. Owned and flagged in the Netherlands, the ship was carrying coke fuel when it was taken.
According to the latest figures from the International Maritime Bureau, Somali pirates have seized 31 boats this year in 143 attacks compared with 42 seizures in 111 raids through all of 2008.
(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz and Kiev bureau)
