On Friday’s newscast we reported on an international incident that is now making worldwide headlines. A Belize registered vessel, the Ukrainian cargo ship the Faina was seized by Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia last week Thursday. The cargo ship was carrying thirty-three soviet - designed war tanks and other weapons. The ship’s twenty one crew members were also taken hostage and in an update it has been reported that one has since died due to a heart attack.
While international authorities have been working for the release of the ship and all of its cargo the pirates have been demanding a twenty million dollar ransom. It is not certain how the ordeal will end but the concern for the U.S. military is that the weapons can fall into the wrong hands like the Al-qaeda linked insurgents who have been at war with the un backed Somali transitional governments.
As such international reports are that U.S. navy destroyers and cruisers have encircled the hijacked ship. An international security risk, with a Belizean flag flying aloft.
