Russia sends warship after Somali pirates

Saturday 27th September, 06:32 AM JST

MOGADISHU —

A Russian warship headed for the seas off Somalia Friday after pirates seized a Ukrainian freighter carrying 33 tanks, munitions and other weaponry, officials said.

The Faina, with a crew of 21, including three Russians, was hijacked on Thursday as it neared the Kenyan port of Mombasa with a cargo of T-72 battle tanks, grenade launchers, ammunition and spares for the Kenyan military, they said.

The frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless) was ordered to the region in response to “the rise in pirate attacks, including against Russian citizens,” said Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said.

“Russia’s navy will send ships for temporary missions to areas made dangerous because of maritime piracy to protect Russian citizens and guarantee the safety of shipping,” he said.

The frigate, armed with missiles and guns and carrying a crew of up to 200, will stay near Somalia “for more than two months in order to guarantee the safety of Russian ships,” RIA Novosti news agency quoted the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Viktor Mardusin, as saying.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said late Thursday there were 17 Ukrainian nationals, three Russians and one Latvian aboard the Belize-flagged vessel.

“The captain reported that three cutter boats with armed people approached the Faina, and then communication was cut off,” it added, quoting information given by operators Tomax Team.

In Nairobi Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said Friday the cargo includes “military hardware such as tanks and an assortment of spare parts for use by different branches of the Kenyan military.”

“The government is in contact with international maritime agencies and other security partners in an endeavour to secure the ship and cargo,” he said in a statement.

“However, it should be noted that because the ship had not yet docked at Mombasa, the responsibility of the insured cargo rests with the shipper.”

In Kiev, Ukrainian Defense Minister Yury Yekhanurov said the Faina was carrying 33 T-72 tanks, grenade-launchers and ammunition.

Lawmaker Valery Konovalyuk, head of a parliamentary committee that oversees Ukraine’s arms deals, said the tanks had been sold to Kenya.

The cargo was one of the last shipments under a contract which saw 77 tanks supplied in 2007, he said.

The Soviet-era T-72 was a frontline tank in Warsaw Pact states and is still in service in more than 30 countries. The tanks and other weaponry carried on the Faina would be greatly prized by any of the warlords fighting each other in lawless Somalia.

Dozens of ships, mainly merchant vessels, have been seized by gangs off Somalia’s 3,700-kilometer coastline in recent years, despite the presence of Western navies deployed in the region to fight terrorism.

The pirates use speedboats and are armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. The harbor at Eyl, in the breakaway northern Somali province of Puntland, is a favorite hideout, and they sometimes hold ships for weeks until they are released for large ransoms paid by governments or owners.

In recent months, a multinational task force based in Djibouti has been patrolling parts of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, where a pirate mother ship is believed to be operating.

French naval commandos took action against pirates who seized two sailing vessels with French citizens aboard and arrested a dozen suspects.

They were brought to France and are awaiting trial on charges of hijacking, hostage-taking and armed robbery, which carry life sentences.

Somalia has been without an effective central authority since the 1991 ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre set off a deadly power struggle that has defied more than a dozen peace initiatives.

Some pirates have justified their actions by claiming that, in the absence of a functional central authority in Somalia, they were battling illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping by foreign countries.

Wire reports

13 Comments

adaydream at 01:25 PM JST - 27th September

I'm glad to see somebody of size going after these Pirates. I can't believe how much I've heard about Pirating the past few years. < :-)
Nippon5 at 03:32 PM JST - 27th September

Hrmm and the French who have been doing it for the last three attacks are not big to you?
skipthesong at 04:32 PM JST - 27th September

French who have been doing it for the last three attacks are not big to you?" I've heard of only one instance.

Wonder if the pirates knew what was on board though.
USNinJapan2 at 04:44 PM JST - 27th September

US and NATO ships have been doing this around the Horn of Africa for years. I guess our ships were more stealth than I thought, at least to adaydream that is...
Nippon5 at 05:02 PM JST - 27th September

They seem to target any ship they can get easy access to, one of these times they will go after a ship who isnt willing to be taken.... Be supprised how fast a 50cal or a 2omicmic will tear a pirate ship apart...

According to adaydream Americans dont do anything good and would consider the American Navy pirates if they helped....
WilliB at 06:45 PM JST - 27th September

Hahaha, I love it. FINALLY the Barbary pirates picked the wrong target.
Sarge at 07:00 PM JST - 27th September

"The frigate Nuestrashimy ( Fearless )"

I never would have guessed "Nuestrashimy" means Fearless.
lipscombe at 07:01 PM JST - 27th September

who would unless they spoke Russian? har!
Badsey at 09:28 PM JST - 27th September

these Pirates need to be caught and sent to a Siberian enlightenment camp -G-Mo is a picnic compared to that.
WilliB at 10:40 PM JST - 27th September

If this was a Western country, the Jihadis would have 33 Leopards or Abram Tanks now. But they picked the wrong victim. No way Putin lets them have the T-72s. Bad day for the Jihad.
presto345 at 11:24 PM JST - 27th September

One Russian frigate on a coastline of 3700 km is not something thousands (?) of pirates are going to be worried about. They take great risks all the time and have been very successful. They don't get scared easily. The rest of the world is not really committed to stop the piracy as it is too costly. Paying ransom is the cheaper solution and the vulture pirates know that too.
WilliB at 12:09 AM JST - 28th September

presto:

" One Russian frigate on a coastline of 3700 km is not something thousands (?) of pirates are going to be worried about. "

The Russians are not looking for people on the beach, they are looking for a rather large ship. And unlike the Somali pirates, they things like satellites to help them look.
presto345 at 12:51 AM JST - 28th September

The Russians are not looking for people on the beach, they are looking for a rather large ship. And unlike the Somali pirates, they things like satellites to help them look.

Other nations have been patrolling the region for years, with modern communications aids, but with little result. Hope the Russians (in this case!) fare better.