Faina (ship)
 The Faina in 2008 off Somalia
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The Faina was a Ro-Ro cargo ship of society Waterlux in Panama in ship management of Ukrainian Tomex Team . The motor ship was hijacked by Somali pirates in September 2008 and their cargo, consisting of illegal weapons, was discovered. In February 2009 it was released again.
history
General
The Faina was built in 1978 by the Swedish shipyard Lödöse Varv in Lödöse . The first name of the freighter was Vallmo , then Matina from 1983 , Loveral from 1985 , Marabou from 2003 , Faina from 2007 to 2013 and finally Ina . The ship was 161.37 meters long and 18.03 meters wide. It had a carrying capacity of around 9,000 tons.
On December 17, 2013 Ina, now flying the Togolese flag, was arrested during a port state control due to serious deficiencies in Varna and banned two days later in the area of the Paris MOU due to multiple serious deficiencies. At the end of 2014 / beginning of 2015 the ship was sold to Bangladesh for demolition.
Hijacking
On September 25, 2008, the ship, which was flying the Belize flag for the Ukrainian shipping company Kaalybe Shipping , was boarded and taken over by pirates off Somalia. The Russian ship's captain Vladimir Kolobkov died a short time later of heart failure. The load consisted of 33 T-72 main battle tanks , 42 ZPU-4 anti-aircraft guns and other heavy weapons allegedly destined for Kenya . According to information from the pirates and information from the British BBC, papers on the ship indicated that the real target of the military equipment was South Sudan and that it was intended for the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA). This assumption is supported by published US dispatches.
After a call for help, the US destroyer Howard arrived shortly after the capture and pursued the freighter as far as the coast of Hobyo . In order to prevent the pirates from getting weapons off board for later raids, the United States Navy sent five more ships, including the Vella Gulf , to the region, while Russia ordered the frigate Neustraschimy from the Atlantic.
The pirates threatened to kill the hostages if an action was taken to free them. The ransom demanded was $ 35 million when the kidnapping began, but was later reduced to $ 5 million. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian security service is investigating the alleged connection between Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Igor Urbanski and the owner of the freighter loaded with tanks and weapons.
According to the Ukrainian government, the ship was released by the pirates on February 4, 2009 after a "very extensive operation" by the secret service. Negotiators reported that a ransom of $ 3.2 million had previously been paid.
On February 14, 2009, the main battle tanks were unloaded in the Kenyan port of Mombasa . The ship had already reached Mombasa on February 12, and the crew was flown to Kiev.
Technical specifications
The ship was equipped with a stern ramp for loading and unloading . There was space on board for 114 trailers or 284 20-foot containers . Connections were available for 18 refrigerated containers.
The hull of the ship was reinforced with ice .
Web links
- Manuscript of the ARD radio feature on Faina ( Memento from June 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) ( audio )
- Horand Knaup: Discreet deal for a small war. Spiegel Online , December 8, 2010 (accessed December 9, 2010)
Individual evidence
- ↑ INA - 7419377 Maritime-Connector.com.
- ↑ a b The ship at Miramar Ship Index ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) subject to registration.
- ↑ M / V INA banned , Paris MOU, December 20, 2013 (English).
- ↑ Die Zeit : Abduction of the "Faina": Pirates warn against violent liberation. September 28, 2008.
- ↑ Upper Hessian Press : Somalia: Tank delivery hijacked by pirates should go to Sudan. ( Memento of February 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) of September 29, 2008.
- ↑ Spiegel Online : Hijacked Gun Ship: Discreet Deal for a Small War. December 10, 2010
- ↑ WikiLeaks : Cable 08STATE103511. ( Memento of December 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) September 27, 2008.
- ^ Spiegel Online: Pirates release Ukrainian tank freighters from February 5, 2009.
- ↑ Website with information on the cargo. (English) accessed on November 8, 2010
- ↑ Vladimir Nikolski
