WORLD> Africa
|
WORLD> Africa
|
|
Somali pirates seize Ukrainian ship carrying tanks
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-27 11:44 Russian Warship In a statement, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry identified the vessel as the Faina and said 17 of 21 crew members, including the captain, were believed to be Ukrainian. The others were from Russia and Latvia. Russia's navy said it had sent a warship to Somalia's coast and would conduct regular anti-piracy patrols in the area. Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told the Vesti-24 television station a Russian warship left its base on the Baltic Sea on September 24. The announcement underlined the ambition of Russia's navy, which some observers say is being used by the Kremlin to project its renewed power. Russian ships are also sailing to Venezuela for the first major maneuvers in the area since the Cold War. Many ships have been seized in the Gulf of Aden, a sea artery used by about 20,000 vessels a year heading to and from the Suez Canal. The shipping lane carries almost one-tenth of the world's shipping by tonnage. Pirates are holding about a dozen vessels and more than 200 crew members. Their business has flourished as the Islamist-led insurgency on shore has deepened. Somalia has been in civil conflict since 1991. The UN food agency welcomed a four-week extension of escorts by the Canadian navy, which will allow it to continue delivering emergency rations to about 2.4 million people in Somalia. "It is a great relief to us," WFP spokeswoman Emilia Casella told journalists in Geneva. "We continue to look for naval escorts beyond October 23." Canada has provided escorts since mid-August and had been due to halt its service on Saturday. France, Denmark, and the Netherlands supplied escorts previously. |
