US: Warships surround ship with Sudan-bound tanks

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ US helicopters and warships circled a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with 33 Soviet-designed tanks and other weapons Monday that officials fear could wind up in the hands of al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia, if the pirates are allowed to escape. Thursday's seizure of the blue-and-white ship off Somalia, a failed state seen as a key battleground in the war on terror, could have dangerous ripple effects across the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Piracy has become a lucrative criminal racket in Somalia, bringing millions of dollars in ransoms to an impoverished nation. The pirates aboard the Ukrainian-operated Faina are demanding US$20 million to release the tanks, rifles and ammunition, along with 21 crew members, one of whom has died. The ship apparently was destined for Sudan when armed pirates overtook it, likely by alighting from a speedboat and clambering up the side of the ship. "We maintain a vigilant watch over the ship and we will remain on station while negotiations between the pirates and the shipping company are going on," Lt. Nathan Christensen, a deputy spokesman for the US Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, told The Associated Press on Monday. A Western official in Washington, D.C., who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing classified material, said the pirates have not been allowed to take anything off the Faina, but they have been "allowed to resupply," apparently referring to items such as food. Although analysts say the pirates will likely be unable to offload the MV Faina's massive tanks, the other military hardware on board or a huge ransom could embolden the pirates and exacerbate the two-decade civil war in a country where nearly every building is pockmarked with bullet holes and all major civil institutions have crumbled. The US fears the armaments onboard the Ukrainian vessel may end up with al-Qaida-linked Islamic insurgents who have been fighting the shaky, U.N.-backed Somali transitional government since late 2006, when they were driven out after six months in power. More than 9,000 people have been killed during the Iraq-style insurgency, most of them civilians. Christensen said the arms shipment had been destined for Sudan — not Kenya, which had been claiming to be the arms' destination. "We are aware that the actual cargo was intended for Sudan, not Kenya," he said. Christensen said the arms shipment had been destined for Sudan — not Kenya, which had been claiming to be the arms' destination. "We are aware that the actual cargo was intended for Sudan, not Kenya," he said. The 5th Fleet said the ship was headed for the Kenyan port of Mombasa, but that "additional reports state the cargo was intended for Sudan." U.N. officials said Monday there is no blanket arms embargo on Sudan's government but that any movement of military equipment and supplies into the Darfur region would violate a U.N. arms embargo, if it were not first requested by the government and approved by the Security Council's Sudan sanctions committee. The United States has expressed opposition to all arms transfers to Sudan, which it considers a state sponsor of terrorism. US officials also have warned that the transfer of lethal military equipment to state sponsors of terrorism is sanctionable under US laws. A Western diplomat in Nairobi, Kenya, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said the shipment was destined for autonomous southern Sudan — not Darfur — and did not violate the embargo. Still, Jervasio Okot, spokesman for southern Sudan's mission to Kenya, said officials there were "surprised" to hear reports that the tanks and arms were destined for their region. "Our government has no contract for the importation of arms with the Russian or Ukrainian governments," Okot said. Meanwhile, the US Navy said American destroyers and cruisers have been deployed within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the hijacked vessel and that helicopters were buzzing overhead because of "great concern" over the possibility of the cargo falling "into the wrong hands," Christensen said. "We will maintain a vigilant watch over the ship and remain on station while negotiations take place," said Rear Adm. Kendall Card, commander of the task force monitoring the ship. "Our goal is to ensure the safety of the crew, to not allow off-loading of dangerous cargo and to make certain Faina can return to legitimate shipping." American intelligence reports said a few days ago that the cargo's ultimate destination was Sudan and that Kenya was only the transshipment point, the Western official in Washington said. Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Valentyn Mandriyevsky said the ministry was not participating in the arms trade and didn't know where the cargo was bound. A spokesman for Ukraine's arms trader, Ukrspetexport, would not comment. The 5th Fleet said Faina is owned and operated by "Kaalbye Shipping Ukraine." A woman who answered phone at Odessa-based Kaalbye Shipping Co. — spelled slightly differently — declined to identify herself said the company was not involved with the Faina. Christensen said the US Navy maintains "standard bridge-to-bridge communication" with Faina's crew via DHF radio, but stressed that they are not taking part in or facilitating any negotiations. The 21-member crew held off Somalia's coast since Thursday is compromised of citizens from Ukraine, Russia and Latvia. There have been at least 24 reported attacks on ships off Somalia this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center. In June, the U.N. Security Council voted to allow international warships to enter Somali waters to combat the problem. But its 1,880-mile (3,025.43-kilometer) coastline — the longest in Africa — remains virtually unpoliced. France has gone further than any other nation in taking on the pirates. Earlier this month, elite French troops wearing night-vision goggles killed one pirate, captured six others and pulled a kidnapped French Polynesian couple to safety in a rescue operation. In another case in April, helicopter-borne French troops swooped in on Somali pirates, capturing six of them, after the hijackers released dozens of hostages who had been held on a yacht. Nick Brown, the editor of Jane's International Defense Review, said it was unlikely the pirates would be able to use the tanks without specialized training and mechanics. But he noted that Soviet-designed T-72s had been disabled in Chechnya and Georgia with rocket propelled grenades, which Somali fighters have in abundant supply. Mogadishu's arms markets are teeming with heavy weapons — including RPGs, grenades, AK-47s and mortars. - AP