SOMALIA PIRACY UPDATE...Captain of hijacked Ukrainian tanker appeals for help

Following a quiet period during late December pirate activity increased significantly as the new year began. Two new vessels have been hijacked: MV BLUE STAR and MV SEA PRINCESS II were taken on 1st and 2nd Jan in the Gulf of Aden and have subsequently been moved to a position off the coast of Eyl and anchored IVO several other vessels awaiting release. As they arrived in the area the release was announced of Turkish vessel YASA NESLIHAN following the payment of an undisclosed ransom demand. Her 20 crew members are reported as safe and in good spirits.
15 vessels remain hijacked.The current slide displays last known position of hijacked vessels.
Over 200 merchant seamen are still held by pirates. The use of mother-ships seems to be on the rise, and potentially, vessels are hijacked with the sole intention of using them as such.

In short, the trends in latest piracy incidents are as follows:
Habar-gidir Pirate's Body Washes Ashore With $153,000

http://www.shipping.nato.int/piracyslid0/SomaliaPir4/file/_WFS/20090107-UC-DAILY%20PIRACY%20SLIDE.bmp
Captain of hijacked Ukrainian tanker appeals for help
Nairobi, Jan 12: The captain of an arms-laden Ukrainian cargo hijacked by Somali pirates appealed in an interview for the ship's owner to engage in direct talks with the pirates and end the crew's 15-week ordeal. Speaking on a satellite phone from the MV Faina over the weekend, Vladimir Nikolsky complained that no direct contact had been made by the ship's Israeli owner with the pirates' leader since the vessel was seized on September 25. "I think Vadim Alperin, the real ship owner, doesn't know the real situation... The owner's representative I think has been hiding information from him," Nikolsky said, in his first interview since the hijacking. The MV Faina is a Ukrainian ship operated under a Belize flag and carries 33 Soviet-type battle tanks as well as ammunition. Captain Vladimir Kolobkov died in unclear circumstances on September 27 and was replaced by second mate Nikolsky. The ship's cargo sparked a controversy, with Kenya claiming it was the intended recipient of the weapons but several other sources insisting the shipment was in fact destined for the forces of South Sudan. Nikolsky said that attempts to negotiate the ship's release, involving a flurry middlemen, had failed due to a lack of determination to free the crew. "The leader of the pirates Mohammed Abdi is ready to establish contact with the ship's owner and he now refuses to make any contact with any other party," he said. Bureau Report