The UN says they have negotiated the release of the food aid ship, and its ten man crew, that have been held by pirates for six weeks. The pirates had been demanding half a million dollars in ransom. This ship was delivering 850 tons of rice. The UN delivers some 3,000 tons of food aid a month to Somalia. Pirate attacks are increasing, with four or five being reported each week, with the pirates often prowling more than a hundred kilometers off the coast.