MOSCOW - Russia's navy dispatched a warship to Somalia's coast, officials said Friday, a day after pirates there carried out their boldest attack yet -- the capture of a Ukrainian vessel manned with Russian and Ukranian crew and loaded with 33 tanks and ammunition bound for Kenya.
Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said in a statement that the frigate Neustrashimy left the Russia's Baltic port of Baltiisk on Wednesday. The statement did not specifically mention the seizure of the Ukrainian ship, which happened Thursday.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Yury Yekhanurov said that the ship, the Faina, was carrying 33 Russian T-72 tanks and a substantial quantity of ammunition and spare parts. Yekhanurov said the tanks were sold in accordance with international law, according to Larisa Mudrak, a spokeswoman for Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
U.S. ships in the area were aware of the seizure of the Ukranian ship and were "monitoring the situation," said Lieut. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet based in Bahrain.
"Obviously, we are deeply concerned," Christensen told The Associated Press. "We have ships in the area and we are monitoring the situation closely. Piracy is an international problem and it requires an international solution."
He was unable to provide more specifics because of the security issues involved, he said.
A Kenyan government spokesman, Alfred Mutua, confirmed that the East African nation's military had ordered the tanks and spare parts, and said Kenya had made such a huge order of tanks as part of a two-year rearmament program for the military.
"We will do whatever it takes to secure the ship," Mutua told The Associated Press when asked whether Kenya will send a naval vessel to intercept the hijacked vessel.
He added that the cargo was insured, but "the responsibility of the insured cargo rests with the shipper."
A person who answered the phone at Ukrainian state-controlled arms dealer Ukrspetsexport, which brokered the sale, refused to comment about the Ukrainian vessel.
Ukrainian officials and an anti-piracy watchdog said 21 crew members were aboard the seized ship, and Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said the crew included three Russians.
Mikhail Voitenko, editor-in-chief of the journal "Naval Bulletin-Sovfrakht" said in televised comments that the ship sailed under a Belize flag and the operator is a Ukrainian company based in the Black Sea port of Odessa. Ukrainian news agencies identified the ship operator as a company called Tomex Team.
U.S. Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the U.S. was concerned about the attack and noted that the U.S. military has assisted foreign countries in previous instances of piracy.
"I think we're looking at the full range of options here," said Whitman. "A ship carrying cargo of that nature being hijacked off the coast of Somalia is something that should concern us, and it does concern us."
Roger Middleton, a researcher at London's Chatham House, said it was unlikely the pirates knew there were tanks aboard the Faina, and he said unloading the cargo would be very difficult.
"Most of their attacks are based on opportunity. So if they see something that looks attackable and looks captureable, they'll attack it," he told AP.
"I'm not sure how helpful such a high-profile cargo will be for them. It makes them much more vulnerable," he said. "I'd imagine they're quite worried."
Dygalo said Russia's navy would periodically send ships to piracy-prone areas to protect Russian citizens and Russian ships. He said the frigate set sail on Wednesday "with the aim of providing for a naval presence in a number of oceans and sea regions."
According to the British-based Jane's Information Group, the Neustrashimy is armed with surface-to-air missiles, 100 mm guns and anti-submarine torpedoes.
Yushchenko, meanwhile, ordered unspecified measures to secure the release of the crew.
The hijacking brings the number of attacks off Somalia to 61 this year, and pirates are now holding 14 ships and more than 300 crew members, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre based in Malaysia.
Middleton said it was unclear how the pirates might react if confronted by military action, noting that they have fled from authorities in the past. On the other hand, he said, they are usually well-armed and organized and are based in an unstable country -- Somalia.
"It could potentially get pretty messy," he said.
