Mogadishu: An American military spokesman says several US warships are surrounding an arms shipment hijacked by Somali pirates.
Lt. Nathan Christensen of the US Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet says an unspecified number of destroyers and cruisers have joined the USS destroyer Howard within a 10-mile radius of the Ukrainian-operated ship.
The Faina is carrying 33 tanks plus rifles and ammunition that the US fears may fall into the hands of Islamic insurgents fighting the Somali government.
Christensen says the American ships will remain in place to monitor negotiations between the pirates and the ship company and helicopters are conducting over flights of the hijacked vessel.
Pirates released a Malaysian ship they had held for about a month, reportedly after being paid a ransom, while another group of pirates said they wanted a $20 million ransom to release a cargo ship loaded with Russian tanks.
Sugule Ali, spokesman for a group of Somali pirates who have held captive the cargo ship with tanks for four days, warned on Sunday that his group would fight to the death if any country tried military action to regain the ship.
A man who said he was the ship's captain reported that one crew member had died.
Pirates seized the Ukrainian-operated ship Faina off the coast of Somalia on Thursday as it headed to Kenya carrying 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial amount of ammunition and spare parts. The ordnance was ordered by the Kenyan government.
Late on Sunday, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told national news agency Bernama that the MT Bunga Melati 5 had been freed and was sailing to Djibouti. The 36 Malaysian and five Filipino crew members were safe and in good health, he said. He did not give further details.
The New Straits Times reported the vessel was released Saturday after a $2 million ransom was paid but that could not be confirmed. A spokesman for national shipping line MISC Berhad, which owns the petrochemical tanker, said the company planned to issue a statement.
The tanker was sailing from Saudi Arabia to Singapore when it was seized August 29 in the Gulf of Aden.
Off the coast of Somalia, the guided missile destroyer USS Howard made sure the pirates did not remove the tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from the ship, which was anchored off the coast.
A spokesman for the US 5th fleet said the Navy remained "deeply concerned" over the fate of the ship's 21-member crew and cargo.
In a rare gesture of cooperation, the Americans appeared to be keeping an eye on the Faina until the Russian missile frigate Neustrashimy, or Intrepid, reaches the area. The Russian ship was still in the Atlantic on Sunday, the Russian navy reported.
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