The MV Faina is a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship operated by a Ukrainian company that sails under a Belize flag of convenience. The Faina is owned by Waterlux AG, based in Panama City, and managed by Tomex Team in Odessa, Ukraine.
On 25 September 2008, the Faina was hijacked by approximately 50 Somali pirates calling themselves the Central Regional Coast Guard in the twenty-sixth such attack in 2008. The Faina’s crew (at the time of capture) consisted of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian. The ship was allegedly heading to Mombasa, Kenya, from Ukraine with 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, weapons (including rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns) and ammunition on board, when it was seized. The pirates said they were unaware of the ship’s cargo before they captured it. However, the pirates claim that documents found onboard indicate that the arms cargo was destined for Juba, Southern Sudan, instead of Kenya, as originally understood. The claim was confirmed by U.S. Navy and Western intelligence officials, though the Kenyan government denies the allegation.
The pirates demanded a ransom and had threatened to blow up the ship, along with the pirates themselves and the ship’s crew, if the ransom is not paid. The ransom amount has been reported as US$35 million, US$20 million, and US$8 million in the days that the ship and its crew have been held hostage. The pirates are thought to be attempting to move toward the pirate haven of Eyl in Somalia in an attempt to unload some of the cargo there.
The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Howard and the Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser Vella Gulf engaged the Faina in pursuit within several hundred yards to stop the unloading of the cargo by the pirates. As of 21 October 2008, six U.S. warships have surrounded the Faina with the Russian missile frigate Neustrashimy en route.
On 28 September, Viktor Nikolsky, first mate on the Faina, said that Vladimir Kolobkov, the ship’s Russian captain, had died from a hypertension-related stroke. On 5 February 2009 the MV Faina was released after being held captive for 5 months. The remaining crew of 20 were freed along with the ship and are reported by the Ukrainian presidency as being healthy and safe. A ransom of US$3,200,000 was paid on 4 February 2009 by the ship’s mysterious owners. The pirates left the vessel early next day stating that the release had been delayed for one hour, but the ship was eventually released. The ship arrived to its destination, the Port of Mombasa, on 12 February 2009, where the cargo was unloaded. The body of the captain was taken to a local morgue awaiting a shipment to Russia.