Talks between the owner of the Faina vessel and the pirates are effectively going on, and there are reasons to believe that they will be completed within a few days, says a press release of the ship owner, published by the Morskoy Bulletin-Sovfracht journal on Thursday.
“There is only one thing that may hamper the talks: another attempt of one of the parties to interfere, to establish personal contacts with the pirates or with those whom the party regards as their leaders, and to offer anything to them once again. I do hope nothing like that will take place. The crew are in good health, they have enough food and water,” the Faina ship owner reported.
According to Mikhail Voitenko, editor-in-chief of the Morskoy Bulletin- Sovfracht, “the reports, circulated recently by many mass media organs, mentioned the deliveries of food and water to the Faina. Judging by the reports, food and water appeared on board the Faina on their own, or through the efforts of those who issued the press releases.” “The financial aspect of water and food deliveries to the Faina was handled by the ship owner, and the technical aspects – by the Ukrainian security services. On the whole, it was a difficult operation,” he said.
According to Voitenko, the dead body of the Faina skipper, who died recently, is still on board the ship, but they hope it will soon be taken to his home country. “The ship owner contacted the U.S. military, who are blocking the Faina, and they said the dead body of the skipper was kept in a freezing chamber. The pirates are very much afraid to turn it over to any of the officers, for fear that the ship will be assaulted,” he continued.
The Faina vessel was captured by Somalian pirates on September 25. It has on board 33 T-72 tanks and other armaments, which are intended, according to various versions, for Kenya or South Sudan. The crew is made up of 17 Ukrainians, two Russians and a Latvian national. Another Russian – skipper Vladimir Kolobkov – died of a heart attack soon after the capture of the Faina by the pirates.
Nina Karpacheva, human rights commissioner of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine, said at a briefing recently that the Faina was owned by Vadim Alperin, an Israeli national. According to her information, she does not maintain contacts with him.
Vadim Alperin is a businessman from Odessa. He was a deputy to the Odessa City Council from the Party of Regions.
