"EL DESTINO DEL BUQUE UCRANIANO CAPTURADO, POR LOS PIRATAS PENDE DE UN HILO". "POR CADA PAÍS QUE PAGA, LOS PIRATAS SE HACEN MÁS FUERTES, Y FEROCES".
"Fate of Ukrainian Ship, Captured
by Pirates, Hangs in the Balance".
"Tim King Salem-News.com"."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. 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".
"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 |
"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 Haradhere".
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