Pirates in small boats sail close to the MV Faina (Photo: US Navy) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle...222620636/html/1.stm

USS HOWARD


A US Navy destroyer has made visual contact with a Ukrainian ship which was seized by pirates last week and is now moored off the Somali coast.

There is no indication that the USS Howard intends to approach the ship, which is carrying 33 battle tanks destined for Kenya's government.

The pirates' ransom demand for the ship and its 21 crew has fallen from $35m to $20m (£10.9m), their spokesman said.

A man on the ship also told the BBC that one of the crew members had died.

The man, who the pirates said was the captain of the MV Faina, was speaking via a satellite phone handed to him by one of the pirates.

He said the dead sailor was Russian and had died as the result of an illness. The report could not be confirmed by independent sources.

He also said the other crew members were fine and that he could see three ships about a mile away, including one carrying an US flag.



In an earlier interview with the BBC, a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet, Lt Nathan Christensen, said the USS Howard was within 8km (5 miles) from the Ukrainian vessel, but refused to say whether an intervention was likely.


If we are attacked, we will defend ourselves until the last one of us dies
Sugule Ali
Spokesman for the pirates

"The USS Howard… [is] currently on station, in visual contact and is monitoring the situation there," he said.

"The motor vessel is anchored off the Somali coast, near the town of Hobyo, along with, actually, a couple of other pirated vessels that are also anchored in that location."

Lt Christensen said the USS Howard had been in contact with MV Faina using VHF radio, and that negotiations were continuing between the pirates and its owners.

He said the ship's cargo of Russian-made 72T battle tanks made it a particularly worrying situation.

"We're concerned that this might end up in the wrong hands, such as terrorists or violence extremists," he said.

One of the pirates, Sugule Ali, claiming to be speaking on their behalf, later told reporters via satellite phone that they wanted a ransom and "nothing else".


"We need $20m for the safe release of the ship and the crew," he told the Associated Press news agency.

"If we are attacked, we will defend ourselves until the last one of us dies."

On Saturday, another of the pirates, Januna Ali Jama, told the BBC they would not release the MV Faina unless a ransom of $35m (£19m) was paid.

Later, a spokesman for the Kenyan government said they had not received any credible demands for a ransom to release the ship.

The waters off the coast of Somalia are considered some of the world's most dangerous.

'Big business'

Ukraine has confirmed that the tanks and "a substantial quantity of ammunition" were aboard the MV Faina.

The ship had a crew of 21 and was sailing towards the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

Authorities in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland say they are powerless to confront the pirates, who regularly hold ships for ransom at the port of Eyl.

USS Howard (Picture from USS Howard website)
The USS Howard is one of several vessels in the area

Last week, France circulated a draft UN resolution urging states to deploy naval vessels and aircraft to combat such piracy.

France, which has troops in nearby Djibouti and also participates in a multi-national naval force patrol in the area, has intervened twice to release French sailors kidnapped by pirates.

Commandos freed two people whose boat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden earlier this month and in April, six arrested pirates were handed over to the French authorities for trial.

Somalia has been without a functioning central government for 17 years and has suffered from continual civil strife.

Next we'll be hearing that the Howard had to put a team on board. Probably not a bad idea, either that or just sink it along with all them tanks.

I read somewhere that there was other ships that had been hijacked sitting in the harbor.

yeah, personally, I'd welcome it if both us and russia went in there and cleaned house.

looks like this will come to a head once the Russian ships arrive. Looks like the Howard and crew are in for a front row seat on what promises to be quite a show. I for one don't believe that the Russians will sail all the way down there and just sit there. They'll take the ship and or flat out just sink it.

The Big old bad Russian Navy must be spread pretty thin to need 5 days to respond to one of it's responsibilties.

quote:

I read somewhere that there was other ships that had been hijacked sitting in the harbor.

Yes, there are several. One is an Iranian ship that made several pirates ill (and rumored to have died) when they opened a sealed cargo compartment.....There's a little concern about that as well.

hmmmm sounds like a plan that could work in future shipments favor. Kinda like those ink packets slipped into the cash during bank robberies!

Looks like we may be moving towards some action?

Somalia: World can use force against the pirates

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia will allow foreign powers to use force if necessary against pirates who are holding a ship loaded with tanks for $20 million ransom, raising the stakes for bandits who are facing off against the United States and soon Moscow on the high seas.

Last week's hijacking of the Ukrainian ship MV Faina — carrying 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, rifles, and heavy weapons — was the highest profile act of piracy in the dangerous waters off Somalia this year. The ship is surrounded by several U.S. warships and American helicopters are buzzing overhead.

More--
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-10-01-somalia-piracy_N.htm?csp=34

Awesome. I need more popcorn.


Pirate Talks Continue, but Who Would Pay?

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: October 3, 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya — It is one thing to haggle over a price for a pirate’s ransom. But it is apparently a whole other matter to figure out who, exactly, should pay it.

On Friday, it seemed that discord among all the players — the shipping company, the shipowner, the insurance companies, government officials and relatives of the captured crew, not to mention the pirates — was slowing negotiations over how to free the arms-laden Ukrainian freighter that Somali pirates seized last week.

-----Excerpt------

As if things were not complicated enough, one of the few people with experience in prickly pirate problems has been jailed by the Kenyan government on suspicion that he is a pirate himself.

Andrew Mwangura, program coordinator for the Seafarers’ Assistance Program in Kenya, a nonprofit group that tracks pirate attacks, was arrested Wednesday. He has extensive contacts along the pirate-infested Somali coast. Kenyan officials have accused him of making false statements and working with the pirates. “Why is it he always finds out what’s happening on a ship before anyone else?” asked Alfred Mutua, a Kenyan government spokesman.

Full Article--

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/04/world/africa/04pirate...&emc=rss&oref=slogin

It's just getting better and better.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A group of Somali pirates who have hijacked a tanker loaded with military supplies say they will fight to the death before giving in to Russian and U.S. authorities.

The superpowers have been unable to end the standoff and remain concerned that the ship's cargo of 33 tanks and other weapons could fall into enemy hands.

But a local official reported that the pirates turned down a demand from Islamist insurgents for some of the arms.

The tense situation off the coast of Somalia began 11 days ago when the pirates took control of the Ukrainian vessel MV Faina.

They have asked for a ransom of about $22 million, or 11 million British pounds, to release the 21 Ukrainian, Latvian and Russian hostages and the cargo.

"If we are attacked we will defend ourselves until every last one of us dies," Sugule Ali, a spokesman for the pirates, said in an interview over satellite telephone from the ship.

"We only need money and if we are paid, then everything will be OK," he said. "No one can tell us what to do."

Ali's words came as U.S. warships continued to surround the ship and American helicopters buzzed overhead.
Related


A Russian frigate is also expected to arrive within days.

It may come as some comfort to authorities that the group reportedly refused to hand over arms to the al Shabaab group, which opposes Somalia's interim government.

But the outcome of the stand-off remains uncertain.

Somali pirates have seized more that 30 vessels off the coast of their country so far this year.

They have received ransoms of between $20 million and $32 million, according to a report by British think tank Chatham House released earlier this week.

Residents confirmed fears that ransom payments to pirates were being passed onto the Islamist movement and were fueling the insurgency against President Abdullahi Yusuf's government.

But despite the frequency of such incidents, pirates rarely hurt their hostages.

One Russian has reportedly died aboard the Faina, apparently of illness.

Lets do the math...

X=BAD GUYS

0=GOOD GUYS

X Is saying we want $$$ and we will fight to the death..

0 Is saying surrender

X Is saying NO...

Number of 0 BAD GUYS= @25(estimate)

Number of X GOOD GUYS=@ alot more than 25 and growing...

So students what would the answer be???

Well...I think this is a no brainer..unfortunately the 0 bad guys don't know squat about math..or their just plain stupid..

I bet one thing the Crew of the USS Howard is getting plenty of training I wonder if they are underway in X-ray or full Battle Station.

Personally I think the hijacked ships should be made to mysteriously sink. 2 or more magnetic mines oughta do the trick.