Somali pirates want $20 million for hijacked ship

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali pirates holding a hijacked ship loaded with arms said Thursday they will not release it for less than $20 million and warned they will fight back against any commando-style rescue attempts.

A half-dozen U.S. navy warships have surrounded the Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was seized last Thursday off the central coast of Somalia as it transported 33 Soviet-designed tanks and heavy weapons to a Kenyan port.

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U.S. Navy

In this picture released by U.S. Navy, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008, Somali pirates in small boats are seen alongside the hijacked ‘Faina’. Somalia says foreign powers may use force against Somali pirates who are holding the ship loaded with battle tanks for $20 million ransom, raising the stakes for a group of bandits who are facing off against the United States on the high seas.

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“We would never reduce the ransom,” pirate spokesman Sugule Ali told the Associated Press in a satellite telephone interview from the Faina.

The Somali government on Wednesday authorized foreign powers to use whatever force is necessary to free the ship from the pirates. Asked about fears that a foreign country might attack — as French commandoes have done in the past to free hijacked ships — Ali insisted his pirates will fight back.

“That will never happen again,” Ali said. “Anyone who tries to attack us or deceive us will face bad repercussions.”

The pirates and the shipping company have been negotiating over the US$20 million ransom demands.

Ali also distanced himself from reports quoting a leader of Somalia’s Islamic insurgency, who urged the pirates to destroy the ship if they are not paid.

“We have nothing to do with insurgents or terrorist organizations, we only need money,” Ali said, adding that a plan was in place to release the ship and its crew of 20 once the received the ransom.

Moscow has sent a warship to protect the few Russian hostages on board the Faina, but it will take several more days to arrive. The Russians have used commando tactics to end several hostage situations in the past, but scores of hostages have died in those efforts.

Some 26 ships have been hijacked of the notorious African waters this year.

The Faina case, the most high-profile hijacking off Somalia’s lawless coast, has highlighted how the country’s increasingly brazen pirates are drawing the concern of global superpowers along one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.