Hijacked tank cargo bound for South Sudan

The US navy has said it believed a hijacked Ukrainian ship it is shadowing off Somalia was carrying tanks bound for south Sudan and not for Kenya.

If proven, it would be a major embarrassment to Nairobi, which has said the 33 T-72 tanks and other armoury on board the MV Faina were intended for its military, and has denied reports of quietly funnelling weaponry into south Sudan.

A fragile peace has held in south Sudan since 2005 after more than two decades of war with the north. A major arms shipment could violate the terms of that pact unless it was specifically authorised by a north-south committee.

"It is our understanding that the cargo was intended for Sudan," said Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, deputy spokesman for the Gulf-based Fifth Fleet which has sent destroyer USS Howard and other boats to within sight of the Faina.

His comments directly contradicted the version given by Kenya's government spokesman Alfred Mutua.

In one of the most worrying of many hijackings this year off Somalia, the Faina was taken on Thursday en route to Kenya's Mombasa port after coming via the Suez Canal. The pirates are holding it a few miles offshore near Hobyo town.

They are demanding $20 million ransom for the ship, which has grenade launchers, ammunition, and 20 crew members on board, as well as the tanks, according to maritime sources.

"We will maintain a vigilant watch over the ship and remain on station while negotiations take place," said the Fifth Fleet's task force commander Rear Admiral Kenall Card, adding the pirates would not be allowed to offload the cargo.

The seizure off Somalia, which is engulfed in civil war, has dangerous ramifications for the turbulent east African region and the commercially strategic shipping lanes off Somalia.

Islamists deny involvement

The Gulf of Aden between Yemen and north Somalia is a major global sea artery used by about 20,000 vessels a year heading to and from the Suez. The Indian Ocean waters off south Somalia are also busy, including with UN aid shipments.

Somali pirates have taken about 30 ships this year.

Analysts say that while the pirates would probably be unable to offload the Faina's tanks, the other equipment on board or a large ransom could give a dangerous tilt to the war in Somalia where Islamist rebels are battling the government.

Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told Reuters the rebels were not involved. "Piracy is not our hobby," he said. Aweys said that during the Islamists' six-month rule of south Somalia in 2006, they effectively halted piracy.

"But no one congratulated us," he said.

Kenya's spokesman Mutua has repeatedly said the Faina's cargo was intended for its army. "Terrorists ... have hijacked important military equipment paid for by the Kenyan taxpayer for use by the Kenyan military," read his latest statement.

Assistant Kenyan defence minister Joseph Nkaisery said Nairobi was not prepared to negotiate a ransom.

But he was less unequivocal about Mutua's version of the tanks' destination: "The port of Mombasa handles goods meant for various countries but as of now you (media) should go by the government statement."

Andrew Mwangura, whose East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme is monitoring the saga, said several previous military shipments to south Sudan had gone through Mombasa.

But a South Sudan army spokesman said it did not have tanks or the capacity to receive any. "We are not yet that advanced," Peter Parnyang said.

Mwangura said a helicopter, probably US, had been buzzing the Faina. He said one crew member, a Russian, had died on board due to sickness since the hijack.