Somali pirates kill ship crew member-maritime source

NAIROBI, June 4 (Reuters) Somali pirates holding a Taiwan-flagged fishing vessel have killed one of its crew members because the ship's owners were not giving in to demands for a ransom, a Kenyan maritime representative said today.

The pirates killed their captive on Saturday and have threatened to take the life of another if their demands are not met, said Andrew Mwangura, director of the Kenyan-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme.

The ship, named Ching Fong Hwa 168, was captured in mid-May and had two Taiwanese and 14 Chinese crew members on board. It was not clear if a Taiwanese or Chinese crew member had died.

''Since they took her captive, there has been communication between the owners and the captors but it seems that the owner wasn't cooperative,'' Mwangura told Reuters by telephone from the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

''They want a ransom and have said they'll kill another crew member if the ship owner doesn't pay,'' he added.

Mwangura's seafarers association gathers information from a variety of sources including radio monitors, shipping firms and relatives of crews.

Piracy off Somalia has escalated this year since an Islamist movement that brought a semblance of law and order during its six-month rule was ousted from Mogadishu at the end of 2006.

Last week, pirates took a cargo ship with its five Danish crew.

Three other ships -- an Indian dhow and two Tanzanian fishing vessels -- are also currently being held.

Pirates have made Somali waters, through which thousands of merchant ships pass each year, some of the most dangerous in the world. The heavily-armed assailants generally use speedboats and often justify their actions by saying they are protecting Somali waters against illegal fishing or toxic dumping.

REUTERS LPB BD1216