Ukraine plans action against Somali pirates

Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Turchinov ordered on Tuesday that a team be formed to rescue 24 Ukrainian sailors captured by Somali pirates aboard the Ariana. The British-owned ship, which flies the Maltese flag, was seized in the early hours of May 2, near the Seychelles Islands. Ukrainian intelligence and security services, the Ministry of Transport and the Foreign Ministry will be involved in rescue efforts, RIA Novosti reports.
The ship was heading from Brazil to the Middle East with a cargo of soy. It is currently harbored in Hobyo, a Somali port city. Greek intermediaries announced today that the pirates have made their ransom demands for the ship known, according to RIA Novosti. Those demands have not been made public.
On Tuesday, the crew was reported to be unharmed and the ship well-stocked with food and supplies. The ship’s owners, Seven Seas Maritime London, broke off telephone contact with the pirates at that time to prevent information leaks, the Unian news agency reports.
Meanwhile, the seizure of another crew of Ukrainians, eight people on board the Dutch craft Marathon, was announced yesterday. The small vessel loaded with coke was captured in the Gulf of Aden, bringing the number of ships currently being held by pirates to over 20, with more than 300 seamen aboard them, according to Nasdaq.
Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean north of Madagascar, has appealed to the international community for protection from the Somali pirates, the British newspaper Telegraph reports. India responded by sending a warship to the area, where pirates have attacked eight ships in the last week. The pirates are expanding the range of their activities as the international military presence in the Gulf of Aden has been stepped up. The Seychelles are a day’s sailing from Somalia.
Last September, the Ukrainian-operated ship Faina, loaded with Ukrainian-made heavy military equipment bound for Kenya, was seized by pirates with a crew of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and a Latvian on board. The ship’s Russian captain died of a stroke shortly after being captured. Approximately 50 pirates, some as young as 14, held the ship for over four months, until a $3.2-million ransom was paid.