Somali pirates demand €24m ransom for ship

A HEAVILY armed US destroyer was stationed off the coast of Somalia yesterday, making sure pirates there don’t remove tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship.

A man claiming to be a spokesman for the pirates says they want $35 million (€24m) to free the cargo ship Faina and warned of dire consequences if any military action was taken to try to free the ship.

Pirates seized the Ukrainian-operated ship on Thursday as it travelled to Kenya with a load of 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial quantity of ammunition and spare parts ordered by the Kenyan government.