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Crew of hijacked ship appeals to Israeli owner
The captain of an arms-laden Ukrainian cargo hijacked by Somali pirates appealed in an interview to AFP 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. "The leader of the pirates ... is ready to establish contact with the ship's owner and he now refuses to make any contact" with middlemen, he said. Nikolsky said the crew were decently treated but stressed that the months of captivity were taking their toll: "They are staying in a small room without moving, without any physical exercise ... Half of the crew is ill and the other half of the crew is going to go mad." Posted by: Fred 2009-01-13 |
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