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MV Faina as observed from the guided-missile cruiser the USS Vella Gulf
MV Faina as observed from the guided-missile cruiser the USS Vella Gulf.
Career
Name: 1978: Vallmo1
1983: Matina
1985: Loverval
2003: Marabou
Owner: Waterlux AG2
Operator: Tomex Team2
Port of Registry: 1978: Flag of Sweden Sweden
1991: Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg
1996: Flag of Panama Panama
(unknown): Flag of Belize Belize
Builder: Lödöse Varv AB
Yard number: 179
Completed: May 19781
Identification: IMO number 74193772
General characteristics
Class and type: KM* L3
Tonnage: 10,931 GT (gross tonnage)
Displacement: 13,650 long tons (13,870 t)
Length: 152.5 m (500 ft 4 in) LBP
Beam: 18.01 m (59 ft 1 in) (moulded)
Draught: 6.72 m (22.0 ft)
Depth: 13.35 m (43.8 ft)
Propulsion: 2 × diesel engines1
Speed: 17.0 knots (31.5 km/h/19.6 mph)1
Crew: 21

The MV Faina (Ukrainian: Фаїна) is a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship operated by a Ukrainian company that sails under a Belize flag of convenience.345

The Faina is owned by Waterlux AG, based in Panama City, and managed by Tomex Team in Odessa, Ukraine.2

On 25 September 2008, the ship was captured by Somali pirates in the twenty-sixth such attack in 2008.6 The Faina's crew (at the time of capture) consisted of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian, including a 14-year-old boy.67 On 28 September, Viktor Nikolsky, first mate on the Faina, said that Vladimir Kolobkov, the ship's Russian captain, had died from a hypertension-related stroke.8910

Contents

Hijacking

A photograph taken onboard the USS Howard showing Somali pirates in small boats after hijacking MV Faina.
The crew of the MV Faina stands on the deck after a U.S. Navy request to check on their health and welfare.

On 25 September 2008, the Faina was hijacked11 by approximately 50 Somali pirates calling themselves the Central Regional Coast Guard.12 The ship was allegedly heading to Mombasa, Kenya, from Ukraine with 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, weapons (including rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns)6 and ammunition on board, when it was seized.13 The pirates said they were unaware of the ship's cargo before they captured it.14 However, the pirates claim that documents found onboard indicate that the arms cargo was destined for Juba, Southern Sudan, instead of Kenya, as originally understood.3 The claim was confirmed by U.S. Navy and Western intelligence officials, though the Kenyan government denies the allegation.15

The pirates demanded a ransom and had threatened to blow up the ship, along with the pirates themselves and the ship's crew, if the ransom is not paid.816 The ransom amount has been reported as US$35 million, US$20 million, US$8 million, and US$5 million in the days that the ship and its crew have been held hostage.171819 The threat was later withdrawn.20 The pirates are thought to be attempting to move toward the pirate haven of Eyl in Somalia in an attempt to unload some of the cargo there.6 Sugule Ali, a spokesman for the pirates onboard the Faina, said, "There is no shortage of food supply and all the crew members are healthy and well, including ours."21

The U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Howard and the Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser Vella Gulf3 engaged the Faina in pursuit within several hundred yards to stop the unloading of the cargo by the pirates.3 Six U.S. warships have surrounded the Faina with the Russian missile frigate Neustrashimy patrolling the Somali coast.81522

American helicopters23 and airplanes of unknown origin have also been flying over the Faina.24 Warships from the U.S. Navy and other navies have blockaded the MV Faina in a port off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast.25 However, pirates are attempting to unload small weapons from the cargo near the village of Hinbarwaqo, even while warned not to do so by surrounding navy ships.26

Three of the hijackers were reportedly killed during a gunfight between rival pirates.27 However, this report was denied by the pirates, instead saying that they were celebrating Eid ul-Fitr, and were "… happy on the ship, and we are celebrating."10

International reactions

Russia, Somalia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and NATO are cooperating to try to recover the ship.8 Kenya said that it will refuse to cooperate or negotiate with the pirates.828

The incident on the vessel has renewed international efforts to stem Somalian piracy. NATO has authorized a force of frigates to patrol Somalia's waters.

Puntland Minister of Fisheries Ahmed Said Aw-nur advocated storming the Faina with European or American commandos, saying, "[a] military operation has to be taken."9 On 1 October, Mohammed Jammer Ali, the acting Somalian Foreign Minister, said, "[t]he international community has permission to fight with the pirates."29 The Somalian insurgency group Al-Shabaab advised the pirates to "either burn down the ship and its arms or sink it" if the ransom was not paid.30

Gallery

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Vallmo". Miramar Ship Index. R.B.Haworth. Retrieved on 7 October 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d "FAINA: Ship info". Equasis. Retrieved on 4 October 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d "Confusion looms over ownership of seized Ukrainian military cargo", Xinhua News Agency (29 September 2008). Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  4. ^ "Faina". Vesseltracker.com. Retrieved on 4 October 2008.
  5. ^ "Hiding behind the flag". Frontline World (January 2004). Retrieved on 4 October 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d "Pirates call all the shots", Sunday Herald. Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  7. ^ Wadhams, Nick (26 September 2008). "Somali Pirates' Unexpected Booty: Russian Tanks", Time. Retrieved on 28 September 2008. 
  8. ^ a b c d e "Pirates Demand Ransom Of Millions", Sky News (28 September 2008). Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  9. ^ a b Gettleman, Jeffrey (28 September 2008). "Tensions Rise Over Ship Hijacked Off Somalia", The New York Times. Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  10. ^ a b Hassan, Mohamed Olad (30 September 2008). "Pirates say they celebrated Muslim holiday on ship", Associated Press, Google News. Retrieved on 30 September 2008. 
  11. ^ "Faina - september 25th, 2008 - Hinbarwaqo, Somalia", Coordination maree noire (25 October 2008). Retrieved on 25 October 2008. 
  12. ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (30 September 2008). "Q. & A. With a Pirate: “We Just Want the Money”", The New York Times. Retrieved on 4 October 2008. 
  13. ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (26 September 2008). "Somalia Pirates Capture Tanks and Global Notice", The New York Times. Retrieved on 28 September 2008. 
  14. ^ "Pirates' spokesman: We want money, not arms", Detroit Free Press (30 September 2008). Retrieved on 1 October 2008. 
  15. ^ a b Mohamed Olad Hassan (3 October 2008). "Hijackers off Somalia show no sign of giving up", Associated Press, Google News. Retrieved on 4 October 2008. 
  16. ^ "Pirates threaten to blow up ship", BBC (10 October 2008). Retrieved on 11 October 2008. 
  17. ^ "US destroyer guardsship sic seized by pirates", The Independent (29 September 2008). Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  18. ^ "Somali pirate says ransom reduced", Associated Press, Google News (7 October 2008). Retrieved on 7 October 2008. 
  19. ^ "Somali pirates demand $5 mln ransom for Ukrainian ship crew", RIA Novosti (2008-11-01). Retrieved on 1 November 2008. 
  20. ^ "Somali pirates drop threat, resume negotiations", CNN (2008-10-15). Retrieved on 15 October 2008. 
  21. ^ Pflanz, Mike (28 September 2008). "US warship challenges Somalia pirates", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  22. ^ "Russian frigate begins anti-piracy patrols off Somalia coast", RIA Novosti (2008-10-28). Retrieved on 28 October 2008. 
  23. ^ Kennedy, Elizabeth A. (29 September 2008). "US Navy watches seized ship with Sudan-bound tanks", Associated Press, Google News. Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  24. ^ Hassan, Mohamed Olad (28 September 2008). "Somali pirates want $20M ship ransom; crewman dies", Associated Press, Google News. Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  25. ^ "US Navy plays waiting game with surrounded Somali pirates", Agence France-Presse, Google News (1 October 2008). Retrieved on 1 October 2008. 
  26. ^ Crilly, Rob (29 September 2008). "Islamists plunder weapons from hijacked ship in Somalia", The Times. Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
  27. ^ "Three pirates shot dead in ship hijack drama", The Standard (30 September 2008). Retrieved on 30 September 2008. 
  28. ^ "NATO to send ships as Somali pirates ease demands", Associated Press, Google News (9 October 2008). Retrieved on 9 October 2008. 
  29. ^ Hassan, Mohamed Olad (1 October 2008). "Somalia: World can use force against the pirates", Google News. Retrieved on 2 October 2008. 
  30. ^ "Somali Islamists tell pirates to destroy Ukrainian arms ship", Agence France-Presse, Google News (2 October 2008). Retrieved on 3 October 2008. 
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