Somalia pirates hijack Ukrainian ship with 21 crew
26/9/2008 17:59
Armed Somali pirates have hijacked a Ukrainian ship with 21 crew members
off the coast of Somalia in the latest attacks along the world's most dangerous
waters, a regional maritime official said today.
Andrew Mwangura, the
coordinator of the East Africa Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP), said the
Belize-flagged Faina vessel was carrying an authorized Ukrainian government arms
shipment to Kenya including 38 type T-72 tanks, an extra number of armoured
personnel carriers, and munitions for southern Sudan.
"The vessel was
hijacked yesterday by gunmen off the Somali coast while underway to Mombasa
port. The ship was carrying 38 tanks for South Sudan with 21 crew members,"
Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone.
He said three motor boats loaded with
armed men intercepted the Ukrainian bulk carrier Faini in international waters
off Kenya's Indian Ocean coast.
According to the regional maritime official,
the vessel with 21 crew members aboard -- 17 Ukrainians, three Russians, and one
Latvian -- had been captured by the buccaneers.
Using increasingly
sophisticated equipment, pirates have stepped up attacks on merchant vessels in
the Gulf, increasing insurance costs for ship owners and raising the possibility
of military intervention.
A spate of hijackings by pirates off the coast of
Somalia has triggered the deployment of a multi-coalition naval force to patrol
the world's most dangerous waters.
The US Navy said Western coalition
warships and aircraft said it will conduct patrols to boost security in the Gulf
of Aden.
The Horn of Africa nation's coastline is considered one of the
world's most dangerous stretches of water because of piracy.
Somalia is at
the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal,
one of the world's most important shipping channels.
The country has been
plagued by factional fighting between warlords and hasn't had a functioning
central administration since the 1991 ouster of former dictator Mohammed Siad
Barre.
Xinhua
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