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Misunderstand amongst owners hinders release of Faina crew
02/03/2009 Source:Translation: RusNavy.com
Negotiations with the pirates who captured the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina and its crew are being complicated by misunderstandings between the owners of the cargo and the ship, Igor Pavlov, the president of the Latvian Sailors Union and a member of the International Trade Fleet Federation, told Ria Novosti.
The cargo aboard the Faina, which was captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia, includes 33 Ukrainian tanks T-72, anti-aircraft systems, grenade launchers, and ammunition. When it was captured, the Faina had on board a Latvian citizen, 3 Russian, and 17 Ukrainians citizens. The captain of the ship, Russian citizen Vladimir Kolobkov, died of a heart attack. The pirates announced through a representative on Monday that they were prepared to release the ship and its crew in a matter of days, in exchange for $3 million.
“Negotiations with the pirates are complicated by the presence in the ship of military cargo. If there had not been such a cargo aboard, the sailors would surely have been released long ago. In addition, there is a possibility that there are misunderstandings between the owner of the ship and that of the cargo: one wants to save the ship, while the other, naturally, is interested in the cargo. And each is prepared to pay his price for that. That complicates negotiations with the pirates,” said Pavlov.
The cargo ship is the property of Tomeks, a company based in Odessa, Ukraine. The weapons aboard the ship are intended for the Kenyan government on paper, but some media reports have suggested that the final destination of the cargo could be Sudan, where there is a civil war at the moment. Ukraine and Nairobi deny it.
Pavlov said that the Latvian citizen aboard the ship, Evgeny Grigorev, was not a member of the Latvian Sailors Union, but that his organization was prepared to offer all the help it can muster.
“In such serious situations we don’t make a distinction between those sailors who are members of the Association and those who are not. If we are able to provide any help to Grigoriev, we will certainly do so,” Pavlov added.
Warships of many nations are currently patrolling the waters off the Somali coast, including ships of the Russian Navy.