The Somali Piracy Epiphenomenon about to End. II–Ukraine at the Forefront of MV FAINA Negotiations

The pressure from the hostages’ families and the deterioration of the global economy, which made an amphibious military intervention in Somalia impossible, contributed to the advance made in the negotiations between the representatives of the pirates and the ship owner who is a political figure in Ukraine, known for his permanent efforts to sabotage Ukraine’s adhesion to the NATO and the EU, gradually turn Kiev to a Russian satellite, and thus help increase the Russian pressure on Europe, and subsequently Europe’s dependence and reliance on American military might.

More details on the subject are to be found in Ecoterra 123rd Press Release Update that I herewith publish integrally.

123rd Update 2009-01-30 22h20:23 UTC

Ecoterra Intl. - Stay Calm & Solve it Peaceful & Fast !

Ecoterra International – Update & Media Release on the stand-off concerning the Ukrainian weapons-ship hi-jacked by Somali pirates and related news.

We also can make sea-piracy in Somalia an issue of the past - with empathy and strength and through coastal and marine development as well as protection!

New EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: +254-738-497979
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EA Illegal Fishing and Dumping Hot line: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed)

Day 128 - 3056 long hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary

Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the four months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved. Contacts and direct negotiations had been arranged and commenced, but the talks are said to have not been forthcoming, though the decision maker on the side of the owner is desperate to conclude the issue.

The Kiev Post reports: The men are still waiting for rescue, amid reports that some of them are suffering poor health and that all of them are imprisoned in terrible conditions – enduring scorching temperatures off the lawless east African coast and spending most of their time in a cramped room aboard the hijacked ship.

After months of staying silent at the Ukrainian government’s request, relatives of the crew have run out of patience and are now speaking out. They are alarmed by the indifference and inability of the nation’s political leaders to free the crew after four months of captivity, the longest of any in a recent upsurge of high seas piracy in the Indian Ocean.

"FAINA is a cold-blooded, slow and incredibly cynical murder of 17 boys, who were unlucky enough to be born on the territory, declared as independent Ukraine", said Victor Shapovalov, father of crew member Denis Shapovalov.

"I don’t even dare to call it a state. A state, by definition, pre-supposes territory, population, government and a president. Ukraine is missing the two last ones", Shapovalov said. "Nothing has been done in four months. Nothing. The government turned a deaf ear to its 17 citizens and we [parents] will find other ways to save their lives".

The relatives of the FAINA crew note that their sons’ captivity didn’t even rate a passing mention in either the New Year’s greeting of Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko or Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The sailors’ mothers also say they recently spent hours in the rain trying to get into the Presidential Secretariat, but were rebuffed. They note that the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a hyperlink to Euro 2012, the soccer championship to be co-hosted by Ukraine, but not to the FAINA standoff.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs deny indifference and inaction. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry "takes all necessary measure to rescue citizens", according to spokesman Vasyl Kyrylych, noting that "according to international experience, state structures, as a rule, do not take a direct part in the negotiation process".

So far, however, nobody appears to be successful in freeing the sailors.

FAINA is owned by Israeli citizen Vadim Alperin, owner of Tomex Team, Inc., and a former deputy of the Odessa City Council. Many of the ship’s crew and their relatives are also from the Black Sea port city.

At a Jan. 22 news conference in Kyiv called by the crew’s relatives, Alperin’s representative said that negotiations with the pirates – more than 40 are believed to be aboard the ship – are making progress.

"We had already reached an agreement on a $1.7 million ransom", said Victor Murenko, Alperin’s representative. Murenko, however, said that the pirates rejected some conditions and the deal fell apart. It was revived again on Jan. 21, Murenko said, when the two sides reached an agreement on the ransom amount. He expected release of the sailors within several days. But, as this Jan. 29 edition of the Kyiv Post went to press, the men were still in captivity.

So the desperate parents are trying everything to win the release of their loved ones. They are now planning to file a lawsuit against the government.

At their Jan. 22 news conference, the parents said they are tired of hearing stories about how negotiations were on the brink of success, only to be disrupted by various third parties.

"The informational vacuum is unbearable", said Svetlana Mgeladze, mother of FAINA crew member Roland Mgeladze. "We can’t stand anymore hearing ‘they have water, food and fuel; keep on waiting’ from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs".

On Jan. 25, parents of the FAINA crew got a rare present: a brief phone call from the ship’s crew. Relatives say the credit for arranging the phone call goes not to the Ukrainian government, but to Abdi Muhammed Nur, a representative of a non-profit Human Rights Group

The telephone conversation was as troubling as it was brief.

"We bear up with our last bit of strength", Denis Shapovalov told his father. He said that the sailors get only one meal a day – rice and noodles – and have irregular supplies of water and poor sanitary conditions. The parents also said their sons told them that the talks were stalled because the pirates wanted to deal directly with the ship’s owner, a step they say hadn’t been taken yet.

Besides the 17 Ukrainian crew members, two Russians and a Latvian are also aboard the ship. The vessel’s Russian captain, Vladimir Kolobkov, died of a heart attack two days after the hijacking. His remains are still on board, reportedly kept in a refrigerator.

The hostage ship’s complicated identity and mission are raising fears among parents that some Ukrainian government officials don’t want to see the ship returned.

The ship sailed under the Belize flag and carried 33 Soviet-type T-72 battle tanks along with other weapons and ammunition. While Ukraine and Kenya insist the tanks were bound for Kenya’s military, Agence France Presse reported that the United States and the pirates themselves have said the weapons were destined for rebels in southern Sudan. If true, the shipments would be in violation of a U.N. Security Council embargo on weapons trade with Sudan.

"I judge by the fact that absolutely nothing has been done", said parent Svitlana Mgeladze. "Probably somebody wants it to be this way."

If the shipments were destined for a prohibited destination, it wouldn’t be the first time that Ukrainian arms exports made scandalous international headlines. During the Leonid Kuchma era, Americans accused Ukraine of supplying Saddam Hussein-led Iraq with advanced radars. More recently, Russians accused Ukraine of supplying Georgians with weapons during the August war. While Ukraine has defended its right to sell arms to Georgia, the proof of radar sales to Iraq never materialized.

Oleksiy Tolkachev, head of the non-profit Public Committee of National Security, spoke at the Jan. 22 press conference and he agreed that the ship raises potentially troublesome questions for Ukraine. "Ukrainian weapons trafficking has created international scandal and is viewed as another foundation for the possible impeachment of Victor Yushchenko", Tolkachev said. "If this ship comes back, an investigation will be held and many questions will be asked".

Victor Shapovalov, father of Denis, a 33 year-old graduate of Odessa National Marine University, has no intention of giving up efforts to save all aboard the FAINA. "I raised my son not to lose him to mercantile interests of some shabby leaders of this ‘formation’", Shapovalov said, referring to Ukraine.

(Former?) U.S Department of State Spokesman Sean McCormack spoke at the briefing in Washington, USA, on October 10, 2008 and stated: "The U.S. Government holds permanent consultations with Ukraine's leadership on the FAINA ship captured by Somali pirates. The subject is also touched upon during meetings with representatives of Russia, Belize, Latvia and Kenya", according to a statement made by U.S Department of State Spokesman Sean McCormack. Sean McCormack said the US "is in contact" with Russia not only in Washington, but in Moscow as well "in order to coordinate diplomatic activity" to solve the problem. The US official stressed that all "military aspects" of the situation with the hijacked ship are within the U.S. Department of Defence's cognizance. He also reported that US leadership "did not participate in the talks between the Somali transition government and the Kenyan government regarding the FAINA merchant ship, however, Washington "is notified of media reports on a possible agreement".

It is not known so far, if under the Obama leadership now a different wind is blowing and all that talk and consultations and U.S. "watching over FAINA" could lead finally to a tangible progress in the rescue of the crew and the peaceful release of the vessel.

There is no limit to what a person can do or how far one can go to help - if one doesn't mind who gets the credit!

The Somali as well as the Ukrainian/Russian/Israeli sides must come to terms now and set the innocent seafarers free with first priority! And in order to avoid the destruction of the vessel and its cargo by anybody as well as to avert the subsequent humanitarian, health and environmental horror-scenario, such can only be achieved together with the release of the ship, where also the body of deceased Capt. Vladimir Kolobkov is still kept.

If the stand-off can not be resolved within the next days Ecoterra Intl. demands immediate humanitarian assistance to be allowed, facilitated and dispatched to the vessel and the body of deceased Capt. Vladimir Kolobkov transferred to his family with respect. Ecoterra Intl. also calls for human rights protection to be provided for all crew members, their families in Russia, the Ukraine and Latvia as well as for all well-meaning people assisting in solving the case, many of whom have been subjected already to serious threats, acts of intimidation and persecution.

Ecoterra Intl. repeats its call to solve the FAINA case now with absolute top priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed by the captors and facilitated by the owners. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen or those, who believe they would be capable to try an attempt of a military solution, must be held fully responsible for the surely resulting disaster. The saga and secrecy surrounding MV FAINA must not - like in the MS ESTONIA case, which is the worst naval disaster in Europe since WWII - become the shroud for its 20 seafarers.

The FAINA is one of at least 49 ships that pirates seized last year off the Horn of Africa during a surge in piracy driven in part by Somalia's growing poverty and instability. The multimillion dollar ransoms are believed by many to be one of the only ways to "make money" in the impoverished nation. But while the many cases of sea-jacked merchant vessels on innocent passage (sailing even outside the EEZ e.g. in the Indian Ocean) constitutes clear piracy, Somali actions against illegal fishing or against any transport of illegitimate or clandestine goods has a legal standing. Ecoterra advocates to end all destructive, detrimental, criminal and illegal activities in Somali waters.

Raising public awareness through legitimate criticism of government actions is a fundamental part of human rights work. We know the Ukrainian authorities don’t welcome facts or information about allegations, but governments trying to prevent torture or other internationally outlawed human rights violations or crimes should encourage reporting of complaints, but not retaliate against human rights defenders. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that, "Citizens also take part in the conduct of public affairs by exerting influence through public debate". States also have obligations specifically relating to protecting and ensuring the right of human rights defenders to do their work. The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders states that everyone has the right to promote the protection and realization of human rights and that individuals or groups have the right to articulate criticism and make proposals for improving the work of government bodies, among other rights. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee free speech. Government officials are expected to be more receptive to criticism than private citizens, especially when it concerns the carrying out of their official duties.

Clearing-house:

News from other abducted or newly attacked ships --------

Games Crazy People Play: Kidnapping, Pirating, and War & Naval War-games to protect Fish-piracy and to cover the real agenda

The captain of MT LONCHAMP was allowed to speak to a humanitarian group and stated that his own injury is only a sprayed ankle, but that the pirate, who carried him because he couldn't walk, shot himself accidentally in the foot with his own gun. The other two injured are the 2nd officer, who sustained a wound on his right arm from a shrapnel when a naval force started firing at the pirates and hit the LPG tanker as well as a pirate, who was hit at his left arm. The Captain confirmed that all wounded had received first aid with onboard-means, which he stated to be sufficient for the moment. He also reported that the naval attackers only seized fire after they were requested to stop shooting by U.S. intervention. The vessel had passed at around 13h30 UTC near Ras Caseyr on the way towards Eyl. The crew are 12 Filipinos and 1 Indonesian, a company spokesman said. Otherwise the crew is reported to be all right and the tanker didn't sustain any critical damage. Food, freshwater and fuel are sufficient for some time, but of concern is the load, which leaves - according to the captain - only a short time-window for the release of the vessel and the discharge of its dangerous cargo.

Longchamp is owned by Hamburg-based MPC Steamship, a subsidiary of MPC Group. "MPC Steamship is a major stakeholder in the private limited partnership which owns the MT Longchamp", a MPC spokesman said. The 4,316dwt MT Longchamp was en route to Asia from Europe, escorted by a naval convoy, when it was boarded by seven armed pirates, owner MPC told Fairplay. According to the magazine SPIEGEL doubts were also voiced about the alertness of the MT Longchamp crew. Due to the fact that the emergency call was made when the pirates were already aboard "created the impression that they were not noticed", but reality is that the distress calls are often logged only much later at the Kuala Lumpur Centre - and often with wrong positions - especially concerning fishing vessel for obvious reasons. German defense officials, according to Deutsche Welle, say the LPG tanker Longchamp was not part of a convoy under military supervision when it was hijacked, while the company had maintained it was under Indian naval guard. Diplomatic sources, which do not want to be named, stated that at the time the Indian navy frigate did reach the vessel it had been taken by the pirates already and the frigate did not fire.

But no comment was made if her helicopter was engaged in a battle. Rumors even spoke of a Chinese naval vessel being involved. The EU mission controlling the area's waters tried today to exculpate itself by complaining that the German tanker had ventured into the perilous zone without traveling in a convoy. The German Navy’s anti-piracy unit in Potsdam said the Indian frigate INS Beas replied to a distress call overnight and wanted to send special forces on board but the captain of the German tanker refused. Atalanta officials also berated the crew of MV Longchamp for not registering with the EU mission in the Gulf of Aden, a stretch between Somalia and Yemen where vessels are at greatest risk of attack. "The master and ship manager falsely assumed that e-mails with their location were sufficient to register themselves," said the spokesman at the operation's base in Northwood, Britain. Fully transparent post-incident reports are awaited from the Indian Navy, the U.S. Navy, EU Atalanta as well as the owner.

MT Biscaglia carrying 25 Indian sailors released by Somali pirates, docked in Mumbai on Friday. The vessel was hijacked on November 28 last year as it was sailing through the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen. Pirates then had attacked the ship, which was carrying 16,282 tons of cargo from Indonesia to Barcelona. Sailors spent nearly two months in captivity. Mukesh Tabib, 30, Third Engineer on MV Biscaglia, has been sailing for the past five years. He was aware that the Gulf of Aden was synonymous with danger. And yet, when the pirates struck, it was an unimaginable jolt. "The hijack was a shock. As we were entering the Gulf, we had informed the Indian Navy, but the response was tardy". By the time the naval helicopter arrived, the pirates had taken charge. The Navy said that it was helpless once the attackers were on board and it could do nothing and left. The attackers held us at gunpoint. They were carrying AK 47s, pistols, grenades and RPGs", Mukesh said. "The first three days we were only made to lie down. We were not allowed to get up. The first week they were very rude to us, but later they were civil. They allowed us to cook and take a shower. We were allotted only two minutes to speak to our families on the phone. They would sit with timers and snatch away the phone at the end of two minutes", recalled Mukesh. The hijackers did not physically harm anyone on board. "We got no time to speak. Hardly had we spoken than the line would be cut", complained his sister Sujata, as reported by The Hindu newspaper.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 16 foreign vessels with a total of 261 crew members accounted for (of which 56 are Filipinos) are held in Somali waters and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (for Somalia, incl. the presently held) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by a naval force. For 2009 the account stands at 15 averted or abandoned attacks and 6 sea-jackings on the Somali / Yemeni pirate side as well as one wrongful attack by friendly fire on the side of the naval forces. Mystery pirate mother-vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean as well as not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures.

Directly related news ------------------

After the first round of the Somali presidential election were announced with 1. A. Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed - 215 2. Masla Mohamed Siyad - 60 3. Nur Hassan Hussein (Nur Cadde) - 59 4. Ali Kalif Galayr - 31, the current Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein (Nur Cadde), Mr. Ali Kalif Galayr and all other candidates except Mr. Masla Mohamed Siyad resigned. The second round of voting by the 425 MPs present will decide between Sheik Sharif and Masla (the son of former President Mohamed Siyad Barre). The expected outcome is: President - Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and Prime Minister - Masla Mohamed Siyad at the helm of the Somali Unity Government for the next two years.

Some Somali parliamentarians who previously supported the Djibouti peace talks aimed at merging the government and the armed opposition alliance [Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia] are now expressing their concerns over the talks, reported Mareeg. The Somali MPs have described the talks as a conspiracy aimed at dividing Somalia. They said there was no need of hurrying in the talks in Djibouti. MP Abdi Abdulle Said (Jiniboqor) has said the talks have been hijacked and are being used to violate the charter of the Somali Transitional Federal Government. He also confirmed that he had quit the presidential race. The MP strongly criticized the way talks are being handled, adding that the MPs [who have been in office since 2004] are being treated badly. He said there were some individuals who wanted to personalize the talks. He said the amendments passed by the parliament have not been made in a responsible way and that the MPs have been given instructions to approve the amendments. Mr Said added that because of this he had decided to quit the race. Abdi Abdulle who hails from Puntland, is among the parliamentarians who opposed the policies of former Somali interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad.

The bodies of at least 8 people have been found in the town of Dhusamareb, Galgadud region, following a heavy fighting, and several of them are believed to be warring sides according to eyewitnesses. The town has been seized by the moderate Al-Sunna Waljamaca religious groups after they attacked the town which a stronghold of Al-shabab. "We saw five people killed in the fighting of yesterday. It seems most of the victims are combatants", local resident Abdi Noh said by phone from the town. "The town is now in the hands of the Ahlu Sunna militias and the Shebab fighters have fled", the elder said. "I could see three dead bodies on one street end". Ali Hassan, another witness, said. Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa is a national Sufi movement which had not been known to engage in armed action in recent years. But some of its members in the Dhusamareb region recently took up arms against the Shebab, whose ideology is closer to the more rigorist Wahhabi brand of Islam.

The UN/IOM regional governmental meeting in Djibouti concluded an agreement which also provides for the creation of three information centres in Mombassa, Dar el Salaam and Sanaa and a training centre for anti-piracy units in Djibouti. The code is open for signature by 21 regional states, but so far only Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Yemen have signed the deal. It was, however immediately questioned, if the signature for Somalia would be valid, since the Somali Government is just now in the process to be re-established and without a Somali centre the whole exercise seems to be futile.

Sweden's government decided to send naval vessels to join European Union's anti-piracy mission off Somalia. The Swedish contribution to the EU's mission, code-named Operation Atalanta, would consist of two corvettes, one support ship and a security force, the government said in a statement. Sweden's participation in the mission is intended to begin in the first half of 2009 and last for a maximum of four months. "Sweden's participation is a response to the UN request for protection and security for the deliveries of food aid to Somalia from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). In addition, the operation will help combat the increasing number of acts of piracy off the coast of the country", the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said in the statement.

Impacting news from the global village ----------------

In focusing on child soldiers, the International Criminal Court (ICC) conveys the strong message that these are serious crimes with devastating consequences for its victims as recruited children are sent to the front lines or used as porters, guards, or sex slaves. By holding perpetrators criminally accountable, ICC sends the strong pronouncement that international criminals can no longer commit these crimes with impunity or without fear of punishment. As a result of ICC endeavors, some individual governments are now exerting efforts to underscore to military commanders who recruit and use child soldiers that there will be consequences. For example, in October 2003, the United States enacted a new law that allows it to prosecute individuals in its territory who have recruited and used child soldiers, even if the crime is committed in another country and the perpetrator is not a US citizen. For international criminal justice to make an effective contribution to improving respect for the rule of law, there must be a real threat of arrest and prosecution as well as fair trial proceedings. The "Achilles heel" of ICC is it does not have its own police force, thus it relies on states to enforce its orders and decisions.

End of the Ecoterra 123rd Press Release Update