The adventures of Ukrainian ship Faina are finally over. At least this is what Ukrainian government claims. President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine said that the ship had been freed on February 4 as a result of an extremely sophisticated operation carried out by Ukrainian secret services in cooperation with their foreign counterparts. “All the crew members are well and safe on board Faina. The vessel is being prepared to sail for the Kenyan port of Mombasa under the protection of the US Navy,” read the statement of the president’s press-service.
After five-month captivity in the hands of Somali pirates the crew was freed for a ransom of $3.2 million, although initially the pirates demanded $35 million. According to Reuters, the pirates started to divide the money right on board the ship. The Ukrainian cargo vessel carried 33 Ukrainian T-72 tanks, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft systems, and ammunition. In December the pirates announced that the crew made an abortive attempt to disarm the guards and regain their control of the ship. The pirates were going to punish the crew members for the “act of violence.”
Let the reader be reminded that Faina was captured on Sept. 25, 2008 off the Somali coast. At that moment 17 Ukrainian citizens, three Russians, and one Latvian citizen were on board. Volodymyr Kolobkov, the captain of the ship, died of a heart attack. There were about 100 pirates on board Faina. The ship is owned by Odesa-based Tomeks company.
Last summer the crew members of Lehmann Timber, another ship captured by the pirates off the Somali coast, were set free. Let us hope that Ukrainian government will learn the lesson: it must protect its citizens all over the globe, not only off the African coast.
The acts of sea piracy that take place off the Somali coast forced individual countries and international organizations to actively defend navigation routes in the area. Fighting against piracy has been included in the UN, EU, and NATO agendas. The waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean are patrolled by more than 20 battleships from 14 countries.
