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MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A ransom for the release of the cargo ship MV Filitsa has been delivered to pirates on board the vessel off the Somali coast, a regional maritime official and pirate sources said on Monday.

Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme said helicopters dropped the agreed ransom, but the vessel was now in the hands of another group of gunmen.

As ransoms paid to Somali pirates spiral higher, competition between rival gangs has been growing. A dispute in January over the biggest ever payoff to Somali pirates for a Greek-flagged oil tanker sparked gunbattles at sea and on land.

"The choppers dropped the money. But the ship is still being held captive by another group of gunmen," Mwangura said.

A pirate on board the MV Filitsa told Reuters they were expecting to receive $3 million for the Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship, which was seized in November with crew from Greece and the Philippines.

"Two helicopters carrying the agreed $3 million ransom are flying over the ship and all the shareholders are onboard awaiting the ransom," a pirate called Rage told Reuters, adding that they planned to release the vessel at around midnight.

Worldwide, piracy attacks rose nearly 40 percent in 2009, with Somali pirates accounting for more than half of the 406 reported incidents, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Typically, the pirates hold the captured ships and crews hostage until ransoms are paid.