Mogadishu, afp: The US Navy on Wednesday piled pressure on Somali pirates holding out for a $20 million ransom for a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks and other arms.

Warships from the United States and other navies have blockaded the MV Faina in a pirate lair off Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast.

The US Defence Department has suggested it could wait days for a Russian warship to arrive, before taking action, and has laid the emphasis on ensuring a “peaceful resolution.”

The pirates, who seized the MV Faina with its 21-man crew and 33 Soviet-era T72 battle tanks last Thursday, say they are under 24-hour surveillance from the US ships and helicopters.

“We are prepared for any eventuality,” warned pirate spokesman Sugule Ali by satellite telephone from the ship.
Andrew Mwangura, who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, said on Tuesday that three pirates were killed during a shootout after a disagreement on what to with the ship.

“The pirates are paranoid, the situation is very tense in the ship. That is why we are asking the naval ships to pull back and pave the way for negotiations,” Mwangura said.

Pirates deny ‘deaths’

The pirates denied there had been any fighting or deaths. The pirate spokesman called the claims “propaganda.”

The Bahrain-based US Navy Fifth Fleet said several ships and helicopters were in the area to support the destroyer USS Howard as it observed its target, now docked at the Somali port village of Hobyo.