ACCORDING to reports Somali pirates have freed the Ukrainian-owned, Belize-flag cargo ro-ro Faina, hijacked in September, following payment of a ransom deal which is believed to have been about US$3,2m.
Reports say the pirates have left the vessel and that it is sailing from the area under the protection of US warships.
Negotiations for the release of the Faina, whose cargo includes ex-Soviet era tanks and other armaments, have been exceptionally difficult and protracted.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has welcomed the release of the Faina vessel hijacked by Somali pirates.
Ukraine based Kyiv News has reported that Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov has told Interfax: “We welcome the release of the sailors, the crew members of the Faina vessel. It is good that all the sailors, among whom there are Russian citizens, are reportedly safe and sound. We hope that the Russian sailors will come home and rejoin their families soon. The Russian Foreign Ministry has undertaken all necessary steps within its purview to help release the crew.” link
When I was a second mate making a passage plan for sailing through that area, I always kept my ship’s track off Somalia coast as far as possible even it would take more time to pass through this area.
My friend spoke with one man from crew of m/v Faina yesterday. According to his words the situation which was described by mass media and real situation is rather different. Firstly: the redemption wasn’t $3.2 million it was about $7 million, secondly: the pirates knew about Faina and her cargo. Thirdly: Ukrainian government sold that weapon unduly, that’s why Faina was in captivity so long.
Interesting fact: when Faina was passing through the Bab el Mandeb the crew saw little yacht which was following them. And when they had appeared in the Gulf of Aden the yacht disappeared and they were captured by the pirates immediately. It looks like the criminals knew about unduly cargo and the attack wasn’t random.
All this time ukrainian government didn’t care about Faina’s crew and they
survived only thanks to US warship which was giving them food, water and fuel supply.
A top Ukrainian businessman says he helped pay a $3.2 million ransom to free 20 sailors who spent over three months held captive by Somali pirates.
Viktor Pinchuk said in a statement Tuesday he felt obliged to help his fellow countrymen. He did not say how much he provided.
President Viktor Yushchenko’s office has said Pinchuk paid the “lion’s share” of the ransom.
Pinchuk is ranked as Ukraine’s second richest man by the influential Korrespondent magazine. The son-in-law of former President Leonid Kuchma owns the country’s largest producer of steel pipes and runs a number charitable, art and other projects.
Pirates seized the arms-laden Faina off the cost of Somalia on Sept. 25 and released the crew and the ship in early February.
