Ransom demanded for Ukrainian ship dips from $20 mln to $8 mln
Somali pirates that seized the Ukrainian Faina vessel carrying tanks and other weaponry intend to reduce the sum of demanded ransom from $20 million to $8 million. If the ransom is not paid, the Faina crew will be murdered, the pirates said.
Attempts to release the ship in a commando operation are doomed, a pirate said. “Anyone who tries to attack or betray us will suffer the consequences,” he noted.
The Faina had been carrying $10 million worth of weaponry, including 22 T-72 tanks and 150 grenade launchers. The pirates said they wanted to levy a duty on the illegal transportation of military hardware through the Somalia territorial waters. The seized vessel is staying in the port of Hobyo, 500 kilometers northeast of the Somali capital Mogadishu. Several U.S. warships are on the standby near the Faina.
According to international organizations, pirates have seized about 60 vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean offshore Somalia since the beginning of this year. A total of 374 foreign sailors were taken hostage in September alone, the Copenhagen-based Risk Intelligence said. The company noted that about $1 million had been paid for the release of each vessel on the average.
The coastal waters of Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria and Brazil have become infamous for piracy. There are also pirates in the South China Sea, near Hong Kong and in the Strait of Malacca. More than 500 pirate attacks are registered annually, the German Ship Owners Union said.
Somali pirates have hit a daily attack record, the International Maritime Bureau said last Friday.
One of the assaulted vessels was an Italian tanker.
The bureau urged sailors to be vigilant because pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden offshore Somalia had become daily.
On Friday pirates attacked a dry cargo vessel of the United Arab Emirates that had a crew of 28 and was moving from Europe to Asia through the Suez Canal. The crew managed to escape captivity with wise maneuvering and aerial support of a strike helicopter of the international coalition.
Less than an hour later the pirates armed with machineguns and grenade launchers tried to seize a Philippine vessel carrying chemicals. A coalition warship forced them to depart.
The Italian tanker was the third target; also an abortive one.
A Taiwanese container vessel came next. The crew washed the pirates off the deck from fire hoses.
Attempts to release the ship in a commando operation are doomed, a pirate said. “Anyone who tries to attack or betray us will suffer the consequences,” he noted.
The Faina had been carrying $10 million worth of weaponry, including 22 T-72 tanks and 150 grenade launchers. The pirates said they wanted to levy a duty on the illegal transportation of military hardware through the Somalia territorial waters. The seized vessel is staying in the port of Hobyo, 500 kilometers northeast of the Somali capital Mogadishu. Several U.S. warships are on the standby near the Faina.
According to international organizations, pirates have seized about 60 vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean offshore Somalia since the beginning of this year. A total of 374 foreign sailors were taken hostage in September alone, the Copenhagen-based Risk Intelligence said. The company noted that about $1 million had been paid for the release of each vessel on the average.
The coastal waters of Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria and Brazil have become infamous for piracy. There are also pirates in the South China Sea, near Hong Kong and in the Strait of Malacca. More than 500 pirate attacks are registered annually, the German Ship Owners Union said.
Somali pirates have hit a daily attack record, the International Maritime Bureau said last Friday.
One of the assaulted vessels was an Italian tanker.
The bureau urged sailors to be vigilant because pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden offshore Somalia had become daily.
On Friday pirates attacked a dry cargo vessel of the United Arab Emirates that had a crew of 28 and was moving from Europe to Asia through the Suez Canal. The crew managed to escape captivity with wise maneuvering and aerial support of a strike helicopter of the international coalition.
Less than an hour later the pirates armed with machineguns and grenade launchers tried to seize a Philippine vessel carrying chemicals. A coalition warship forced them to depart.
The Italian tanker was the third target; also an abortive one.
A Taiwanese container vessel came next. The crew washed the pirates off the deck from fire hoses.