pirates want 20 million in ransom

[charleskieffner]

off somalia ship with 30 somethang T-72 russian tanks and mega blammo-ammo being held ransom.

3 u.s.n ships watching.

russian fast frigate en route to area.

u.s.n. states" we will not let them offload tanks/ammo!"

stay tuned...............this could get real good.................real fast!

could be some REAL FIREWORKS! KA ******* BOOM! adios pirates.

[Jim Richards]

It's just a guess, but I don't think they are going to get that $20M.

[legion]

Russia will send it to the bottom before paying a dime.

There is a reason no one messes with Russia, and it isn't because they have "improved their stature among nations".

This also marks a real turning point in East African piracy. Up until now, the crews were either released upon capture of a ship or for a very small ransom. From what I gather the crew is still being held and their fate is tied to that of the cargo.

[berettafan]

omg that is SOOOO 1800's!

[Rick Lee]

Did those pirates know who they were messing with? Man, I almost feel sorry for them. They'll be lucky to not get stuck in a crematorium while still alive.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by legion

This also marks a real turning point in East African piracy. Up until now, the crews were either released upon capture of a ship or for a very small ransom. From what I gather the crew is still being held and their fate is tied to that of the cargo.

In a prior life I support the anti-pirate work with my UAS's...unfortunately, a lot of captured crew, depending on the size of the vessel, origin, etc. have met some fairly gruesome ends the past four years.

[onlycafe]

aarrrrgh, send 'em all to davy jones' locker i says.

[svandamme]

just goes to show you that hunger ain't the best basis for a cunning plan

[charleskieffner]

having a friend in the greek shipping biz, and a neighbor down the runway who used to werk for same greek shipping guy, as one of his ship captains, we have had some chats about this. somalia is really asking for an ass whopping. along with A.Q. being involved in the area, i think its safe to believe they will never see a ransom.

butt.................on the other side of coin what if they, A.Q., were to pirate a bulk LNG or PROPANE vessel?????? man that would make some waves when it when KA ******* BOOM!

crazy world .............every single ******* day!

[svandamme]

i think it won't be long before there will be a permanent presence of some kind of naval force in that corridor, that's a major shipping lane going up to the Suez Canal, and the alternative around South Africa takes too long to be useful ...

maybe a carrier and a couple of frigats, there are enough countries who will start getting antsy about this pirating, the US obviously won't, as it's not in their interest (not intended as a diss, just stating facts, this is a Euro thing), so the Brits, Spanish, French or even Ruskies will probably set up a task force and each will take turn...

[Moses]

How about a Haiku?

Pirates have the ship.
Torpedo small hole in bow.
Sink slowly. Lifeboat?

[Heel n Toe]

No KA-BOOOM yet. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/09/29/somalia.piracy.ukraine/index.html

Legion, do you really think the Russian frigate will cap it?

I wonder why the pirates dropped their ransom from $35M to $20M.

[masraum]

According to the articles on CNN, the ransom started out as $35 million.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/09/27/somalia.piracy.ukraine/index.html#cnnSTCText

(CNN) -- Pirates who seized a Ukrainian vessel loaded with tanks and weapons off the African coast have lowered their ransom demand to $5 million.
Russia has sent this frigate to the Somalia coast after the hijacking of a Ukrainian ship.

Russia has sent this frigate to the Somalia coast after the hijacking of a Ukrainian ship.

The pirates initially demanded $35 million and no military action, said Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya Seafarers Association. They decreased their demands for several reasons, Mwangura said.

Those reasons include that the crew is from eastern Europe and not the United States, the weapons the ship carries are secondhand, and there is no way to unload the tanks without coming onto land, he said.

[sammyg2]

It's getting colder but I get the feeling the russians are going to make it warmer

[charleskieffner]

in just a MATTER OF TIME................it will be a DESTINATION LOCATION for us stalwart goofy SCUBA DIVERS!

man just imagine cruising thru the decks in shallow water. no decoms. what a photog DEE-LIGHT!

im foaming at the mouth to dive on something like that!

[gtc]

Kind of ironic, but I bet the fact that they hijacked a weapons shipment means they're less likely to get the ransom.
Ransoms in the millions of dollars are supposedly not uncommon, but those are usually had for commercial shipments that attract less attention.

[legion]

What's the story on the ship? It was going from Ukraine to where?

And why is Russia even involved?

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Did those pirates know who they were messing with? Man, I almost feel sorry for them. They'll be lucky to not get stuck in a crematorium while still alive.

+1

Russian rules of engagement:

Ask once for your stuff back. No response? Kill everyone, hostages included in a huge brutal show of force. Have some minor ministry offical give a half heart apology to the familys of the hostages.



The Somali jerks just messed with the wrong dog.....unless there is something else on the ship that we don't know about. Hmmmmmm.....

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by legion

What's the story on the ship? It was going from Ukraine to where?

And why is Russia even involved?

The ship was headed to the Kenyan port of Mombasa when it was seized. Nairobi said the shipment was part of a contract with Ukraine to update some of its military hardware.

Andrew Mwangura, who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, had said that cargo may have been destined for the authorities of South Sudan, a claim denied by Nairobi.

According to the Ukrainian defence ministry, the MV Faina is carrying 33 Soviet-type T-72 tanks as well as other military supplies.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iBJRGljzO-MrwMKW5CFFMbkUIBVw

[Rick Lee]

Those pirates need to review what happened with the Chechnyan terrorists in the Moscow theatre. And this time there some precious military cargo at stake. Those pirates are dead men walking. I'd be surprised if their familes haven't already been targeted too.