Thursday March 28, 2024
SNc Channels:

Search
About Salem-News.com

 

Jan-11-2009 22:30printcomments

Fate of Ukrainian Ship Captured by Pirates Hangs in the Balance

Problems with Russia, the Ukraine's economy and heating sources are allowing the pirate occupied vessel to languish.

Hijacked MV Faina Seen from the USS Vella Gulf.
Hijacked MV Faina Seen from the USS Vella Gulf.
U.S. Navy Photo taken November 10th 2008. Other photos unless otherwise specified courtesy: cargolaw.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Over three and a half months have passed since Somali pirates overtook the Ukrainian vessel MV Faina off the coast of this African country.

The group ECOTERRA Intl., says information received from crew on the Faina indicates that things are not going well and most communications are still coming from sideline negotiators and informers rather than from the real sources.

As the fate of the Ukrainian ship hangs in the balance, Russia has sent six warships to participate in a joint naval exercise with the Indian navy this month, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Sunday. The Russian ships are led by the Pyotr Veliky, a nuclear-powered missile cruiser.

The mission dubbed INDRA, is a biennial Russian-Indian training exercise designed to sharpen skills that are necessary when enforcing maritime law and countering piracy, terrorism and drug smuggling.

This will be the fourth INDRA-2009 exercise since 2003 and it does involve a number of live-fire drills. "The exercise will be held in the Arabian Sea at the end of January. Russia will be represented by six ships, including the Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered missile cruiser," General of the Army Nikolai Makarov said.

Guided missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky
Courtesy: checkpoint-online.ch

The Northern Fleet's Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser is currently anchored 10 miles off the coast of South Africa, taking food and water supplies and awaiting the permission to dock in Cape Town on the way to the Indian Ocean. She is returning from joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy in the Caribbean. The potent military vessel will join up with warships from the Pacific Fleet for the INDRA-2009 exercise.

The Udaloy class destroyer Admiral Vinogradov, a tugboat and two fuel tankers are reported to have already arrived in the Indian Ocean; they left Russia's Far East a month ago.

After the conclusion of INDRA-2009, the Admiral Vinogradov will assume the duties of Neustrashimy (Fearless) missile frigate from Russia's Baltic Fleet in the Gulf of Aden, where their role involves protecting commercial shipping from pirate attacks off the Somali coast.

Russian Gas War

Russia's new year began with another gas war; one that progressed far and has caused massive problems for several nations. Ukraine's supplies have been cut off as well as exports to Europe across Ukraine's territory. With Ukraine deprived of the natural gas it needs, Russia feels the economic hit by losing an important export channel.

Not to mention that both are rapidly losing their international reputations. Large populations of Europe are freezing.

Russia signed an agreement Saturday with the European Union over the deployment of EU observers who will monitor the flow of natural gas across Ukraine. This will clear the way for restarting Russian gas supplies to a freezing Europe, ECOTERRA Intl. says. Seeking Ukraine's approval is Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who arrived in the country Saturday.

Once the loose ends are tied together with this new deal, it will take at least 36 hours before natural gas reaches hundreds of thousands of consumers in countries like Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia, in the grip of severe winter weather.

"Just like Somali pirates cannot help attacking ships, Ukraine can't help stealing gas. Which means Russia will be the one to blame in any case," said a political analyst close to the Kremlin, according to Moskovsky Komsomolets.

"Ukraine, which has obviously gone out of hand and beyond all bounds shamelessly stealing gas instead of paying, is a natural and perfect target to siphon off the accumulated public indignation and anxiety" [in Russia], writes Vedomosti.

Tensions that have existed between these countries for years intensified in July 2008, when Ukraine blamed former Soviet leaders for the famine that killed millions between 1932 and 1933. Documents were published that the Ukraine said "unequivocally" proved its case. The goal of the Ukrainian government is to see the tragedy recognized as genocide.

A Somali pirate and his weapon. Courtesy: usmaritimelaw.org

The scale of the death toll during this famine is contested. Some historians say 3.5 million perished in what is known in Ukraine as "Holodomor," or "death by hunger", while the country's leaders say up to 10 million died. In April, the lower house of the Ukrainian parliament passed a pre-emptive resolution declaring that the famine should not be considered genocide, but the new documentation may lead to the revokation of this resolution.

As these political and economic woes occupy the minds of Ukrainians, the fate of the MV Faina remains totally unclear. ECOTERRA Intl. repeats it's call to solve the Faina case now with absolute top priority and they say that resolution should be peaceful in order to avert human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast.

They say the negotiations are taking place during difficult situations with inexperienced and untrained gunmen. The group believes that those who suggest using the military to achieve a solution, must be held fully responsible for the surely resulting disaster.

They hope that the saga and the secrecy surrounding the MV Faina does not end up like in the MS Estonia case, considered the worst naval disaster in Europe since WWII.

Pirate Wars

Officials recovered the body of a Somali pirate last week who drowned just after receiving a huge ransom. His body washed onshore with $153,000 in cash, a resident told reporters Sunday. Five other pirates drowned Friday when their small boat capsized. This reportedly happened after they received $3 million in ransom for the release of a Saudi oil tanker.

Local resident Omar Abdi Hassan told The AP that one of the bodies had been found on a beach near the coastal town of Haradhere and relatives were searching for the other four.

"One of them was discovered and they are still looking for the other ones. He had $153,000 in a plastic bag in his pocket," he said Sunday to The AP.

Three other pirates survived the capsizing, but they lost their share of the ransom, The AP said. Other sources reportedly confirmed the find of the dead pirate with money on him. It is believed that one of the pirates may have survived what was described as an "accidental" capsizing, and escaped.

Abdurahman Mohamed Faroole, the newly elected president of the northeastern Somali state of Puntland, vowed on Sunday to make fighting the rampant piracy off the region's coast a top priority for his administration as he was officially inaugurated in Garowe, the state's capital.

Pirates have wreacked havoc in the seas of this regional state where most of the criminal groups are based.

Puntland authorities simply say they can't control the piracy. The small port town of Eyl, in the southern Puntland region of Nugaal, is known as a major base for pirates who, thanks to the hefty ransom payouts, are better trained and armed than the local security forces, ECOTERRA Intl. says.

Other port towns in the region used by Somali pirates as bases include Hobyo and Haradheere.


Groups watching this situation closely say that international efforts are helping. Piracy incidents have decreased with the capture of several pirate boats and suspects captured by international naval ships that were deployed after the authorization of the UN Security Council last year.

Dozens of pirates remain imprisoned in Puntland's jails. More than 20 were captured by foreign warships and handed over to the authorities in the state. A number of pirates previously escaped from local prisons after allegedly paying bribes to prison guards.

ECOTERRA Intl. says that with the latest captures and releases accounted for, at least 15 foreign vessels with a total of 298 crew members are held in Somali waters. Several other cases of ships which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed.

Over 134 incidents (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (incl. the presently held).

For 2009 the account stands at 11 abandoned attacks and 2 sea-jackings, ECOTERRA Int. reports.

-----------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------
Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 in Afghanistan with Oregon troops. Tim recently returned from Iraq where he covered the war there while embedded with an Oregon Guard aviation unit. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com




Comments Leave a comment on this story.
Name:

All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.


[Return to Top]
©2024 Salem-News.com. All opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Salem-News.com.


Articles for January 10, 2009 | Articles for January 11, 2009 | Articles for January 12, 2009
googlec507860f6901db00.html
Support
Salem-News.com:



The NAACP of the Willamette Valley

Tribute to Palestine and to the incredible courage, determination and struggle of the Palestinian People. ~Dom Martin

Click here for all of William's articles and letters.