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Warships in Standoff with Pirates
Several American warships from the 5th Fleet joined the USS Howard, which is blocking the Faina, a Belize-registered cargo ship with a $35-million load of weapons, which was seized by Somali pirates last week. Several European warships are also remaining in the area and the Russian Neustrashimy is heading to the scene from the Baltic Fleet. The American ships have so far restricted their actions to calling on the pirates not to touch the cargo, but their admonitions have gone unheeded.
The Faina was seized by pirates on September 25 on its way to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, carrying 33 Ukrainian T-72 tanks, ZU-23 short-range air-defense cannons, grenade launchers and a large amount of ammunition. This is the 30th incident of this type this year. Ukrainian Defense Minister Yury Ekhanurov stated that the weapons were sold by the state company Ukrspetsexport to Kenya in conformity with the law. Ukraine has a contract with Kenya for the delivery of 77 T-23 tanks.
Andrew Mwangura, head of the South African branch of the Seafarer’s Assistance Programme, said that the pirate claim the arms were destined for southern Sudan, however. He adds that they are threatening to reveal all the information they possess to the press unless they are paid $20 million in the nearest future. There is a UN embargo on arms deliveries to Sudan. Kenyan government spokesman Andrew Mutua has stated that the shipment was intended for his country.
Some experts have suggested that there was a conspiracy to seize the Faina. They point out that it was not taken in the Bay of Aden, where such incidents usually take place, but in the Indian Sea, where they are all but unknown. The ship’s captain, Vladimir Kolobkov, made it clear in his last message before the ship’s capture that the pirates did not happen upon the ship, but approached it purposefully. Several speedboats were waiting for the ship 200 miles offshore. Kolobkov died on Sunday of a heart attack. “The pirates knew the ship’s route, and they could have received that information only from two sources – Ukraine and Kenya,” Mikhail Voitenko, editor-in-chief of Maritime Bulletin – Sovfracht commented to Kommersant. “There are many in Kenya with close ties to the Somali pirates,” he added.
The pirates have begun taking the ammunition on board the ship to shore, 10 miles away at the Somali port of Hobyo. The American ships cannot fire on the Faina because of the nature of its cargo, noted official U.S. Navy spokesman Nathan Christensen. There are also 20 crew members on board.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 30, 2008
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