US destroyer guardsship seized by pirates

A US Navy destroyer was stationed off Somalia yesterday to ensure that Somali pirates did not remove tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship.

The pirates have demanded $35m (£19m) to release the cargo ship Faina and its 21 crew, warning of dire consequences if military action is taken to try to free the vessel. The ship was seized on Thursday as it sailed to Kenya with 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks, ammunition and spare parts ordered by the Kenyan government.

The Americans appeared to be keeping an eye on the Faina until the Russian missile frigate Neustrashimy reached the area. A spokesman for the US 5th Fleet said the San Diego-based USS Howard had the Faina in sight yesterday but "cannot hear what is going on" on board.

He said that the Navy had tried to communicate with the Faina's crew but so far had not had a response. The BBC claimed to have spoken to the pirates by satellite phone and been told that one of the crew members had died of an illness.