NATO to send warships to combat piracy off Somalia

The NATO military alliance has agreed to send warships to help combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. NATO defence ministers meeting in Hungary agreed to dispatch a joint task force by the end of the year. NATO officials say the force will also escort World Food Program ships delivering aid to Somalia. Warships from several countries are already patrolling the waters off Somalia, where dozens of ships have been attacked by pirates in recent months.
NATO Maritime Group to Combat Pirates off Somalia more..http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51453

Ukraine against using force to free ship MOGADISHU, Somalia: Ukraine said it is against using force to free its hijacked ship off Somalia's coast as NATO marshaled a seven-vessel force to protect ships in those perilous waters.
Some pirates appeared on Friday to be softening in the face of international pressure.
Hijackers freed 20 Filipino seamen from a ship held for more than 80 days, Philippines officials said Friday, and the Philippines government doubled the pay of sailors passing through pirate-infested international waters to compensate them for the dangers they face.
Pirates also released 29 Iranian seamen and their cargo ship hijacked in July, Iran's official IRNA news agency said Friday.
A spokesman for the pirates who seized the Ukrainian ship MV Faina on Sept. 25 said Thursday they were willing to negotiate their ransom demand of US$20 million, after nearly two weeks of insisting they would never lower the price. Ukraine's defense minister called for negotiations to take place. more..http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/10/africa/AF-Somalia-Piracy.php

Somali Pirates Said to Be Near Arms Cargo Deal

NAIROBI, - There were mixed signals on Wednesday about the progress of the ransom negotiations for the arms-laden Ukrainian freighter that Somali pirates hijacked nearly two weeks ago.Business associates of the pirates said that a deal to pay the pirates millions of dollars was close and that the freighter would be freed.“The pirates and the shipowners have agreed on around $8 million,” said Ahmed Omar, a businessman in Xarardheere, the notorious pirate den near the location where the hijacked ship is anchored. “The ship may be freed today or tomorrow.”Maritime officials in Kenya were a bit more cautious, saying crucial details had yet to be worked out. For starters, the pirates were asking for guarantees that they would not be captured after releasing the freighter or blown out of the water by the armada of American warships circling them.“This isn’t like buying a used car and driving off,” said one maritime official in Kenya. “The lousy money is only part of this.”Still, the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “Progress is being made. The parties are getting closer.”One Western diplomat with knowledge of the negotiations seemed even less optimistic. He said the Ukrainians and the pirates were still talking through intermediaries.“Maybe in two days they will be talking directly,” the diplomat said. “The pirates have said they need the money and a safe route deep into the interior.”The diplomat said there had not been any major stumbling blocks and that the delay was simply part of a delicate negotiation process. Bargaining involving other hijacked ships has sometimes dragged on for months.In this instance, the pirates started by asking for $35 million and then dropped their demand to $20 million, saying all along that they were ready to entertain discounts. More than 25 ships have been hijacked this year off Somalia’s craggy coastline; the going ransom is usually $1 million to $2 million. They have said that after the money is paid — preferably in American $100 bills — they will release the ship, the arms and the 20 sailors on board.But where were the arms ultimately going? This is a question that will not go away. Shortly after the Ukrainian freighter was hijacked on Sept. 25 about 200 miles from shore, the Kenyan government claimed that the weapons aboard — 33 T-72 tanks, 150 grenade launchers, 6 anti-aircraft guns and heaps of ammunition — were for Kenya’s military. The ship at the time was headed for Mombasa, Kenya’s main port. Since then, however, more and more evidence has emerged that the weapons were part of a secret arms deal between Kenya and southern Sudan that probably never would have been discovered had the pirates not hijacked the ship and begun talking to the world’s media by satellite phone.Ukrainian officials have been adamant that they did nothing wrong.“Ukraine does not supply — or have plans to supply — any armaments to the government of South Sudan,” said Oleh Belokolos, a Ukrainian diplomat in Kenya. “All the appropriated paperwork has been validated. Ukraine follows all United Nations rules and arms control agreements.”Ukraine is known throughout the world as a major arms supplier, having inherited enormous stockpiles of weaponry after the collapse of the Soviet Union. What is suspicious in this deal is that up until now Kenya has mostly relied on Britain and other Western countries for its heavy weapons. Meanwhile, southern Sudan, an autonomous region that is currently building up its military, uses Soviet-designed tanks.Kenyan politicians were demanding answers and have called for several commissions to look into the matter.The American military said its priority is to make sure the weapons were not taken off the ship and sold to Islamist insurgents in Somalia. The pirates do not seem that interested in the tanks and said they actually had no idea there were weapons on board when they spotted the freighter on the high seas.“We just want the money,” said Sugule Ali, the pirate spokesman, in an interview last week.

Pirates seize another ship off Somalia-minister http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LA611298.htm

Somali pirates release 20 Filipino seamen; government doubles sailors' pay http://www.newser.com/article/d93nic6o0/somali-pirates-release-20-filipino-seamen-government-doubles-sailors-pay.html