Sunday, December 07, 2008
A pirate spokesman told AFP that the armed gang holding the Faina was "unhappy about the delay in the ransom payment."
"The ship's owners are taking too long to hand over the money," the spokesman, identifying himself only as Ahmed, said by telephone from Hobyo town, near the pirate lair of Harardhere.
"There have been consultations between the force on the ground and on the ship and everyone agreed that if the money is not delivered on time to abandon the agreement," he added.
Elders in the area who did not wish to be named said a ransom of 3.5 million dollars had been agreed for the ship, carrying 33 Soviet-type battle tanks, rocket launchers and ammunition when it was seized off Somalia two months ago.
Sugule Ali, the spokesman for the group of pirates aboard the Faina, told AFP on November 30 that agreement on a ransom had been reached and it was "just a matter of time and a few technicalities" before the ship and its crew were released, which he said would occur "within four days".
The US military has overflown the hijacked vessel several times to take pictures of the crew lined up on the bridge and verify that all were in good health.
The MV Faina was anchored a few miles off the coast of Harardhere, north of Mogadishu, and had been moved several times.
The initial ransom demand in the immediate aftermath of the freighter's capture on September 25 had been for 35 million dollars.
The Ukrainian ship was headed for Kenya when it was seized, with 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian on board.
The capture of the ship triggered a controversy over its cargo's final destination.
Kenya has insisted it was the intended recipient of the arms but maritime officials and diplomatic sources in the region have said the government of semi-autonomous
Source: AFP, Dec 07, 2008