KIEV, Jan. 21 - The owner of the Ukrainian vessel Faina, which is being held by Somali pirates, has decided to increase the size of the ransom he is prepared to pay for the vessel's release.

"Understanding the complexity of the situation, the ship owner is taking unprecedented steps now. He has decided again - and probably the last time - to increase the sum of the ransom in the hope that the pirates will also display elementary reasonableness," a posting on the Internet portal Sovfracht Maritime Bulletin says.