Pirates in fierce gun battle over ransom January 19, 2010 - 6:47AM

Somali pirates have fought a fierce gun battle over the share-out of a multimillion-dollar ransom within hours of the release of a Greek supertanker, witnesses say.

Machine-gun fire echoed across the coastal village of Harardhere and "there are dead bodies in the streets", one witness said.

Harardhere resident Husein Warsame said the fighting had brought the village to a standstill.

"There is no movement so far, the pirates are exchanging heavy machinegun fire inside the town and there are dead bodies in the streets."

Abdi Yare, a member of a pirate gang in the village, said two clans were disputing the ransom split.

"I have seen the body of one pirate and two injured so far but the casualties could be far higher than that," said another resident, Abdulahi Haji Mohamed.

Harardhere is a known pirate lair - 300km north of the capital, Mogadishu - where the Greek supertanker, Maran Centaurus, was held before pirates released it earlier on Monday in exchange for a reported $US9 million ($9.8 million) in ransom.

A sum of $US7 million was dropped onto the deck of the ship by plane while another $US2 million was handed over via bank transfer, according to Ecoterra International, which monitors piracy in the Indian Ocean.

The 332-metre supertanker, with its multinational crew of 28, was on its way to the South African port of Durban. It was hijacked in the Indian Ocean on November 29.

AFP