The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

dirtydog

The MV Faina is carrying a shipment of battle tanks

Somali pirates holding a Ukrainian ship with a cargo of military tanks off the Somali coast have threatened to blow it up if they are not paid a ransom.

A pirate spokesman told news agencies by satellite telephone that the ransom of $20m (£12m) must be paid by Monday night or the ship would be destroyed.

He said the pirates were ready to die along with the crew.

US warships have surrounded the MV Faina and a Russian frigate is on its way to help in the operation.

The Kenya-bound ship, together with its mainly Ukrainian crew of 21 and cargo of 33 tanks, was seized on 25 September.

One member of the crew, believed to be Russian, died of a stroke shortly afterwards.

'Three days'

"We held a consultative meeting for more than three hours today and decided to blow up the ship and its cargo - us included - if the ship owners did not meet our ransom demand," Sugule Ali told the Associated Press from aboard the vessel.


Pirates in small boats sail close to the MV Faina (Photo: US Navy)

Enlarge Image

"After three days, starting from tomorrow, the news of the ship will be closed. Either we achieve our goal and get the ransom or perish along with the ship, its crew and cargo."

The pirate spokesman repeated the ultimatum in a conversation with the Spanish news agency Efe.

Piracy is rife in the busy shipping lanes near to Somalia's coast and along the Gulf of Aden, where dozens of boats have been hijacked this year.

Somalia has lacked a functioning central government since 1991 and has been afflicted by continual civil strife.

oldgit

The Russian frigate is taking it's time getting there, is it a Pedlo class frigate that's on it's way?

blackgang

Who gives a fuck if they blow it up, I don't as I don't own a bolt in it.
I think they should blow it up the day before the pirates say they going to and then maybe they would quit that shit, Then go to the beach and blow everything to hell and be done with it.

mobs00

^ Agreed. Don't know if this has been covered but all the Sudan needs is more guns.

From the BBC - 2 October 2008

"Military experts say the cargo of tanks captured by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa was destined for South Sudan."

Thetyim

Only Lloyds or whoever has it insured

pickel

Not to mention the crew and their families.

jandajoy

Those tanks won't last 5 minutes in S. Sudan anyway.

TizMe

To sacrifice one ship and unfortunately a few crew now will put an end to the piracy.

Just tell them this is how we will negotiate with you, you capture a boat, we kill you.

If they pay the ransom then they will just eagerly await the next passing ship and it will never end.

pickel

In the same way that capital punishment puts an end to murder? Until Somalia gets an actual government and a navy, piracy will exist.

Thetyim

Only if it is profitable

TizMe

That comparison is apples to oranges. Piracy will only exist while there is the possibility of gains to be made.

If the international community decided on a zero negotiation policy then it removes any chance that the pirates demands will be met and therefore eliminates the motivation to become a pirate.

As long as the pirates have any chance of success, they will continue to capture ships. Negotiation and/or paying ransom is only a short term solution to one single incident.

sabang

Yes, what happened to the Russians? They have very effective, albeit ruthless techniques of dealing with hostage takers. And it is their cargo.

The identity of at least some of the hostages is surely known. Publish the names of their family members and home villages, and declare to them they are being rounded up as accesories. Use physical blockade and electronic jamming to keep them incommunicado with the outside world. Sink their boats, and family members boats- and provide proof.

There are many more effective options than anchoring somewhere at a safe distance from the hijacked ship and masturbating.

__________________
probes Aliens

Marmite the Dog

I thought SBF was in China?

oldgit

Seems the pirates picked the wrong ship.

Dirty Bomb! Somali Pirates Thwart Iranian Dirty Bomb Attack on Israel? : Stop The ACLU

keda

The whackjob could do with something to follow up strong words, and I wouldn't put anything past them, but a bit more evidence needed before the West start squawking.

sabang

Soldiers of a regional government, with guns blazing, have freed a cargo ship that pirates had held off the Somali coast for five days, according to an official from the region.

The ship and the 11 crew members - nine Syrians and two Somalis - were freed after a gun battle in which one soldier was killed and three wounded, said Deputy Seaport Minister Abdiqadir Muse Geele. No hostages or pirates were hurt, Geele said.

The 10 pirates who had held the ship since Thursday surrendered when they ran out of ammunition, said Geele, who is a deputy minister in the government of the northern Somalia semiautonomous region of Puntland.

Also today, the US Navy said Somali pirates had not followed through on their threat to blow up an arms-laden Ukrainian ship.

The vessel, carrying a crew of 20 and a cargo of heavy weapons, is still in one piece, said Lt Stephanie Murdock, a spokeswoman for the 5th Fleet in Bahrain. Pirates had threatened to destroy MV Faina by early today unless ransom was paid.

American warships continue to monitor the Faina, which is docked near the Somali port of Hobyo, Murdock said.

A spokesman for the pirates said yesterday they were considering extending the deadline. They have held the ship and its crew for almost three weeks.

Pirates have seized more than two dozen ships this year off Somalia's coast.

Ship held by pirates freed in gun battle - World - smh.com.au

TizMe

BBC NEWS | Africa | Pirates capture Saudi oil tanker
Pirates have seized a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast and are steering it towards Somalia, the US Navy reports.
The US-bound tanker was captured on Saturday some 450 nautical miles (830km) south-east of Mombasa, and is now approaching the Somali port of Eyl.
The Sirius Star is carrying its full load of 2m barrels - more than one-quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output.
Its international crew of 25, including two Britons, is said to be safe.
Lt Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet, said the attack was "unprecedented".

Panda

Think they might have bit off more than they can chew this time.

blackgang

Damn I hope that the navy bombs that ship once it gets into port or as close as they can get it and dump the anchors,, what a fucking mess that be.

Rural Surin

Wouldn't that be fun?

TizMe

Seems they should have listened to me over 2 years ago...

Pirate gangs preying on shipping lanes through the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean typically target large merchant ships, with oil tankers the prize catch, but the snatching of foreigners can also yield high ransoms. There were around 750 pirate hostages at the end of January.

We must teach the pirates that it is a never win situation for them. That the only outcome will be their bodies sent back to their village in a box.

Poo and Pee

i'm pretty sure it isn't that simple.

the pirates themselves are mear pawns, played by the billion dollar organisations who are orchestrating the attacks. as i mentioned on another thread, the pirates themselves on pocket 15% of the booty. the bulk of it goes to people living in mansions living safe and far away on dry land.

a few dead pirates now and again won't change a thing.

Rural Surin

Don't bother. Seemingly. no one gets it.

__________________
" Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology, it covers both the natural and the spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things......natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity."