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| Terror Networks |
| Pirates Agree on Ransom for Ukrainian Ship Carrying Russian Tanks |
| 2008-11-30 |
| Somali pirates have agreed on a ransom for a Ukrainian freighter carrying tanks and other heavy weapons and it could be released within days, a spokesman said Sunday. Mikhail Voitenko said the MV Faina could be freed with its crew if agreement is reached on how to get the ransom money to the pirates, who seized the ship off the coast of Somalia in late September. He said there were negotiations on Friday. "The owner has confirmed there is every reason to hope that it will be released in the coming week," said Voitenko, editor of Maritime Bulletin-Sovfrakht, a shipping news Web site. He said he is acting as spokesman for the Faina's owner, Vadim Alperin. A man who answered the phone at Ukraine-based Tomex Team, the ship's technical manager, confirmed that Voitenko was the owner's spokesman. The man refused to give his name. Voitenko would not give the amount of the agreed ransom, but suggested it was far lower than the pirates' initial $20 million demand. He said the average ransom for ships hijacked in the region in recent months was $1.5 million to $1.8 million and that the latest public demand he was aware of for the Faina was $3 million. A successful release of the ship and its cargo and crew would signal to pirates that they cannot expect to sell or receive higher ransoms for valuable cargoes, Voitenko said. Somali pirates seized the Sirius Star, a Saudi tanker carrying $100 million worth of crude oil, on Nov. 15. Voitenko said the Faina's hijackers may be seeking a guarantee that they will not be attacked at sea or on shore after releasing the ship. He said a British-based company is conducting the negotiations, but would not reveal its name. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #5 "Faina's hijackers may be seeking a guarantee that they will not be attacked at sea or on shore after releasing the ship. He said a British-based company is conducting the negotiations" I am hoping that certain special operators are not bound by said negotiations. Pirates must be killed, to a man. Family too if they were involved. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-11-30 21:48 |
| #4 Mk48 |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-11-30 21:46 |
| #3 Polonium only works on your insides. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2008-11-30 20:32 |
| #2 I'd only pay this ransom if it was in Polonium-laced rubles. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-11-30 18:51 |
| #1 I thought this whole thing was really gonna be handled about a month back by some Russian commandoes or something? |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2008-11-30 18:21 |