Navy: Crew on hijacked ship near Somalia OK

[unhappycamper]

The crew of the Ukrainian MV Faina stand on the deck following a U.S. Navy request to check on their health and welfare, Oct. 5 off the coast of Somalia. The ship is carrying 33 battle tanks, military weapons and 21 Ukrainian, Latvian and Russian hostages. One Russian has reportedly died, apparently of illness, during the 11-day standoff. The pirates are demanding US$20 million ransom, and say they will not lower the price.


Navy: Crew on hijacked ship near Somalia OK
By Elizabeth A. Kennedy - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Oct 6, 2008 18:14:41 EDT

NAIROBI, Kenya — The crew on a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship laden with tanks and heavy weaponry appear to be in good health, a U.S. Navy spokeswoman said Monday.

Lt. Stephanie Murdock, a 5th Fleet spokeswoman in Bahrain, said American officials are in regular contact with the master of the MV Faina, which was seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia late last month with 21 crew on board.

Officials in Moscow say the ship’s Russian captain died of a heart condition soon after the hijacking nearly two weeks ago.

The remaining crew appeared fine in a photograph taken Friday, when the pirates granted a request by the U.S. Navy to have the crew step out onto the deck. The picture, released by the Navy, shows the men, mostly expressionless, with gunmen nearby. The crew of Ukrainians, Latvians and Russians are leaning against the railing of the ship but not looking directly at the camera.

“From all indications, everything is fine with the crew members on board,” Murdock told The Associated Press.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_pirates_somalia_100608/%2e