The Somali Piracy Epiphenomenon about to End. VI–Ukraine’s Role in MV FAINA Negotiations’ Success

The Ecoterra 127th Press Release Update sheds more light on the Ukrainian administration’s pressure for a successful termination of the MV FAINA negotiations. Herewith, I publish it integrally.

127th Update 2009-02-02 20h12:29 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
East African Seafarers Assistance Programme - Media Officer: +254-733-385868
EA Illegal Fishing and Dumping Hot line: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed)

Day 131 - 3126 long hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary

Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the over 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 were said to have not been concluded so far, though both sides are said to be desperate to finalize the issues.

Family members expressed today again fear that there might be hidden plans to never let the MV FAINA come home or reach her port of destination, due to her controversial cargo of heavy military arms. The MV FAINA is a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship operated by a Ukrainian company that sails under a Belize flag of convenience. The FAINA is owned by Waterlux AG, based in Panama City, and managed by Tomex Team in Odessa, Ukraine. On 25 September 2008, the ship was captured by Somalis in Somali waters near the Kenyan border. The FAINA was hijacked by approximately 50 Somalia captors calling themselves the Central Regional Coast Guard. Family members do no longer believe what they see as fabricated media reports or political statements by Ukrainian officials that the case is close to be solved.

Meanwhile Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has urged the owner of the FAINA vessel to publicly report on progress made in the talks to free the crew. "The Foreign Ministry has urged the ship's owner today to publicly inform the press and to answer the question how the talks are proceeding and at what stage they are now at," Foreign Ministry spokesman Vasily Kyrylych said at a press briefing in Kyiv. The ship owner is in talks with the pirates and is informed of the details of the negotiations, he said. But Ukrainian diplomats have not been on the sidelines since the ship was seized, he also said. "Use of force as a way of resolving the problem was rejected due to Ukrainian diplomats' efforts," he said, adding that force was among the options proposed. The state as it is cannot hold the talks with the pirates, other ways are being searched, the diplomat noted. Ukrainian MFA press secretary Vasyl Kyrylych reported also that the talks to release the MV Bosphorus Prodigy held captive since December 16, 2008 are in a final stage [apparently already released - see below].

Ecoterra Intl. welcomes the renewed statement by the Ukrainian Government that a peaceful solution must be achieved.

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 environment and its natural resources are all too often forgotten as the long-term casualty of war. Environmental security must no longer be viewed as a luxury but needs to be seen as a fundamental part of a long-lasting peace policy." - UNEP

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

Somali pirates who recently hijacked a German gas tanker have demanded 6 Million dollars to free the ship and its crew, sources said on Monday.

Marine observers in Somalia report the release of MV BOSPHORUS PRODIGY with 8 Ukrainian and 3 Turkish seafarers under captain Viktor Symonov, who had been held captive since 15th December 2008. The crew of 11 is said to be well. The general cargo ship - sailing under Antigua and Barbuda flag of convenience - belongs to ISKOMARINE SHIPPING & TRADING, Istanbul. It is the last of three Turkish-owned merchant ships to be released, which were captured in the Gulf of Aden last year. An official confirmation from the owner could not yet be obtained.

Release operations concerning MT STOLT VALOR are said to be in an advanced stage, but she has not yet sailed to freedom.

Germany’s Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa quoted that there are negotiations between the Somali pirates and the Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte ship management company. Pirates who seized a German gas tanker in the Gulf of Aden are demanding 6 million dollars for the vessel's release, sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Monday. A spokesman for the German operators of the MV LONGCHAMP declined to confirm the demand. The captain of the ship said "all 13 crew members were in good health". The tanker, transporting liquefied petroleum gas, was seized on Thursday morning, en route from Europe to the Far East. The tanker was seized before dawn on Jan. 29 by seven pirates in a corridor patrolled by EU naval forces off southern Yemen, about 95 km from the port of al-Mukalla. Somali pirates have captured three boats so far in 2009, after taking a record 42 last year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean shipping lanes. Anarchy and an Islamist insurgency onshore have fuelled the upsurge of piracy. In an unprecedented international response, more than 20 warships from 14 nations are patrolling to try and stop the gangs.

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 14 foreign vessels with a total of 243 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 -------

Somali Police in the northeastern state of Puntland have jailed two pirates who had killed their fellow bandits in a dispute over money. Two of the four pirates, who were quarreling over a large amount of ransom money in the city of Garowe, settled their score with their partners in crime by opening fire on them, correspondents reported on Monday. The shooters then fled with the money and the victims' vehicle but were arrested at a checkpoint outside Garowe.

Nearly 30 people were killed and many more wounded Monday when the African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces opened fired on a minibus in the Somali capital, an official said. "The forces (AU peacekeepers) came under a roadside bomb attack and one of their vehicles was hit, but unfortunately they opened fire indiscriminately at the civilians, killing 30 and wounding many more," Abdelfatah Ibrahim Shaweey, deputy mayor of Mogadishu, said. Hospital officials said around 14 civilians were admitted in the Medina hospital, while nine bodies were brought to the hospital morgue for identification. Some of the injured were also rushed to other hospitals. The incident took place in southern Mogadishu near a base of the AU forces. Ba-Hoku Barigye, spokesman for the AU mission in Somalia, however denied that his forces were responsible for the killing of civilians, saying that the peacekeepers only responded to the intense firing from the gunmen after the blast. The spokesman said one of the troops sustained minor gunshot wounds, adding that only four civilians have died in the incident. Currently, there are around 3,400 AU troops stationed in the war-torn country. The soldiers are part of the 8,000-strong UN peacekeeping contingent in Somalia.

Habrgedir Elders applaud elected Somali president. The elders of the Habrgedir - the dominant clan in the Somali capital Mogadishu - have given a round of applause to the newly elected president of the Horn of African country (Somalia) Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and urged the different communities in Somalia to heartily support the new president, according to Somaliweyn Radio. The elders also urged the few internal insurgents, who still clinch to the gun, to put it down and come to the negotiation table in order to sieve out the differences and reach an unshakable solution for the volatile nation of Somalia. On the other hand the elders urged the internal fighting in central Somalia to be halted immediately without conditions, and not to displace the innocent civilians in those areas, Somalia is exhausted of fighting and displacement. In the gathering the elders debated on several issues, and the main agenda of the meeting was how to support the government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The elders also urged the President Shariff Sheikh Ahmed to mainly focus on reconciliation among the Somalis, and to implement the Islamic Sharia law, which he has earlier said in his speech after he was elected as the president of Somalia. This communiqué from the Habargidir elders coincides at time when Somali president Sheikh Sharif is attending at the forum of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Sunday said that the United Nations is ready to support the new Somali government in its efforts for national reconciliation and the establishment of effective security. Ban, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, congratulated the new Somali government on the successful conclusion of the presidential elections, and commended the Somali political leaders for the major step they have taken, through this process, toward national reconciliation. "The United Nations has supported this process and stands ready to help the new government in its efforts toward national reconciliation and the establishment of effective security," the statement said. "The United Nations will provide strong logistical support" for the African Union's peacekeeping force, known as the AMISON Force," and help develop Somali security force," the statement said. "The Security Council will decide in the months ahead, the appropriateness of a UN peacekeeping operation to support the Somali political, economic, and social development," it noted. "The secretary-general urges President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and the new government to reach out to all Somali people and parties, including those who are still outside of the Djibouti process," the statement said. "It is important that these efforts should have a tangible effect in improving the security environment for the Somali people and humanitarian actors." Somali parliament elected the new president on Friday in a bid to put an end to the situation that the Horn of Africa nation has no central government since Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.

The African Union peacekeeping Mission on Somalia (AMISOM) has promised to give full support t the newly elected President of Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. The Spokesperson for AMISOM, Maj. Bahoku Barigye says the UN peacekeeping mission will work with the new President of the Somali transitional government to ensure peace and normalcy returns to Somalia. Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was last week elected by the Somali government to head the transitional government that is expected to bring the different factions in Somalia to the same table and stop the fighting between the different factions. Maj. Barigye says Sharif Ahmed’s election has brought more hope for bringing about lasting peace in Somalia where Uganda has deployed over 1,600 peacekeeping troops. He also appealed to the United Nations and the international communities to give more support to the transitional government of Somalia to enable it achieve peace. Meanwhile, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), Javier Solana in a congratulatory message to the new Somali President today also promised that the EU will continue to support the peace process in Somalia, in particular through the African Union and AMISOM and to maintain the cooperation with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Somalia, Ould Abdallah.

An Admiral of the Russian Navy Vladimir Masorin, ex-commander-in-chief of the Navy and adviser of the defence minister of the Russian Federation, told Itar-Tass that the deployment of another multinational naval task force in the Gulf of Aden will not have much effect on fighting piracy. He commented on the launching of the anti-piracy task force, Combined Task Force 151 of the US Fifth Fleet, in which ships of other countries are invited to participate. USS San Antonio, a landing and helicopter support ship, entered the Gulf of Aden on January 17, to become the flagship of the new task force. The Russian admiral is of the opinion that the increase in the number of ships in the danger area will not stop piracy. "Another task force will only help piloting vessels rather than changing cardinally the situation with piracy," Masorin believes. He said one ship can control no more than one percent of the danger zone, and it will take at least 100 combat ships to ensure safety of navigation. "Almost all maritime powers are now short of combat ships. So prolonged maintenance of a group of ships in a remote zone is a very costly undertaking, particularly in conditions of the global economic crisis," the admiral said. "For effective anti-piracy effort there is a need for bases in the Gulf of Aden where ships could replenish their stocks and undergo repair," Masorin believes. He cited the example of the French naval base in Djibouti from which French ships rapidly react to pirates’ actions sending speedboats and helicopters to protect vessels. As to the possibility of Russian ships’ interaction with Combined Task Force 151, the ex-commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy stressed that such contacts can take place on the basis of partnership, and joint operations should necessarily be coordinated. He noted that "our ships always reserve the right to complete independence and have never been in operational subordination to anyone."

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

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi Monday assumed the chairmanship of the African Union, as African leaders meet here to discuss pressing continental matters. The leaders are focusing on the issue of infrastructure, as a key ingredient in the unity of the continent, a day after a landmark decision to create a new African Union Authority was arrived at following extensive discussions on the issue. The issue of unity becomes more urgent as steps are being taken towards the formation of the Union Government, which could be proclaimed during the next Summit in July. On Monday, African leaders paid tribute to their departed colleagues, among them the late Guinean President Lansana Conte and the late Zambian leader Levy Mwanawasa, who took ill while attending the last Summit in July in Egypt. Outgoing AU Chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said that the situation in Somalia remained fragile even after the election of the new President, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who also attended the Summit hours after he was elected.

A three day regional conference bringing together 13 East African countries to discuss how to promote the rule of law and human security in eastern Africa kicked off in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi on Monday. Addressing delegates, the director of operations at the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODOC), Francis Maertens said that the conference will center its talks on the deteriorating human rights abuses in regional countries and also human and drug trafficking. He said that thousands of women and children were trafficked on an annual basis in the region. He disclosed also that the conference will come up with ways in which looted assets by past corrupt dictators can be recovered from Europe and other developed countries. He gave the example of Nigeria where UNODOC was able to recover $1 billion on behalf of the Nigerian government which the government of the late General Sani Abacha had stashed abroad. "Once recovered such money could be used to fund education, health and other investments," said Maertens. The meeting will gather a wide range of stakeholders working in the area of human security and rule of law in the region, including technical experts from the countries, and representatives of international organizations and the development partners. The conference was told that poor governance, insecurity, conflicts, poverty and economic disparities among and within countries of the eastern Africa region has provided the opportunities for trans-national organized crime, as is evidenced in widespread illicit trafficking in drugs, human beings, arms, and wildlife and timber products. Thirteen countries are participating in the meeting, namely Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda.

The European Union pledged 300 million euros ($383.3 million) to the African Union on Monday to fund peacekeeping missions on the world's poorest continent, Reuters reports. "It will include an early response mechanism, which will strengthen the flexibility and rapidity of the Africa Peace Facility (APF) response," both sides said in a statement. "It will provide substantial, predictable funding for Africa-led peace support operations," they said. The deal was signed on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Ethiopia. This APF covers 2008-2010, and follows an earlier donation of 440 million Euros from the EU. The AU runs various peacekeeping operations on the continent, including in Somalia, Sudan and Central African Republic.

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to attend the 12th African Union Summit, IranPressTV reports. African heads of state gather each year to discuss the ways to consolidate the African Union commission across the African continent. Recent developments in Somalia, Zimbabwe and ways to thwart the continent's crises as well as the international financial problems are on the Summit's agenda. Iran is an African Union observer and was accepted as one of the strategic partners of the African continent in the 11th Summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. The Iranian Foreign Minister is scheduled to submit President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's special message to the African Union. The African Union is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 53 African states, established in 2002. The AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity and its secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

End of Ecoterra 127th Press Release Update