US Navy plays waiting game with surrounded Somali pirates

MOGADISHU (AFP) — The US Navy on Wednesday piled pressure on Somali pirates holding out for a 20 million dollar ransom for a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks and other arms.

Warships from the United States and other navies have blockaded the MV Faina in a pirate lair off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast.

The US Defence Department has suggested it could wait days for a Russian warship to arrive, before taking action, and has laid the emphasis on ensuring a "peaceful resolution."

Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed urged Somalis and the international community to combat rising piracy off the lawless nation's waters, which has seen 60 ships being seized this year alone.

"They (pirates) are imposing an embargo on the Somali people and the international community because they are blocking movement between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, which affects not only Somalia but the whole world," Yusuf said at a press conference in Mogadishu.

"I call on the Somali people to fight against the pirates. I also call on the international community to act quickly on what is happening in Somali waters as well as on shore," he added.

The pirates, who seized the MV Faina with its 21-man crew and 33 Soviet-era T72 battle tanks last Thursday, say they are under 24-hour surveillance from the US ships and helicopters.

"We are prepared for any eventuality," warned pirate spokesman, Sugule Ali, by satellite telephone from the ship.

Andrew Mwangura, who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, said Tuesday that three pirates were killed during a shootout after a disagreement on what to with the ship.

"The pirates are paranoid, the situation is very tense in the ship. That is why we are asking the naval ships to pull back and pave the way for negotiations," Mwangura told AFP.

But the pirates denied there had been any fighting or deaths. The pirate spokesman called the claims "propaganda." READ MORE