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| Somali pirates 'seize 30 tanks' | Somali pirates 'seize 30 tanks' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Pirates off the coast of Somalia have seized a Ukrainian ship carrying T-72 tanks, an official has said. | Pirates off the coast of Somalia have seized a Ukrainian ship carrying T-72 tanks, an official has said. |
| Ukraine's foreign ministry said the ship had a crew of 21 and was sailing under a Belize flag to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. | Ukraine's foreign ministry said the ship had a crew of 21 and was sailing under a Belize flag to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. |
| A report from Russia's Interfax news agency said earlier that the ship had a cargo of about 30 tanks, as well as spare parts for armoured vehicles. | A report from Russia's Interfax news agency said earlier that the ship had a cargo of about 30 tanks, as well as spare parts for armoured vehicles. |
| There has been a recent surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia. | There has been a recent surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia. |
| The country has not had an effective national government for 17 years, leading to a collapse of law and order both on land and at sea. | |
| Somali pirates are currently holding more than a dozen hijacked ships in the base in Eyl, a town in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. | Somali pirates are currently holding more than a dozen hijacked ships in the base in Eyl, a town in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. |
| It was not immediately clear where the Ukrainian ship had been taken. | It was not immediately clear where the Ukrainian ship had been taken. |
| Speed boats | Speed boats |
| The Ukrainian foreign ministry said the captain of the Faina cargo ship had reported being surrounded by three boats of armed men on Thursday afternoon. | |
| Andrew Mwangura, who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, confirmed to the BBC that the ship was carrying a cargo of tanks. | |
| The tanks were due to be transported by road from Kenya to South Sudan. | |
| Insurgents in Somalia, not known to have links to the pirates, are currently battling a combination of government troops, their Ethiopian allies and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu and other parts of southern Somalia. | Insurgents in Somalia, not known to have links to the pirates, are currently battling a combination of government troops, their Ethiopian allies and African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu and other parts of southern Somalia. |
| The US has an anti-terror task force based in neighbouring Djibouti and has carried out several air strikes against the Islamist insurgents, accusing them of sheltering al-Qaeda operatives. | The US has an anti-terror task force based in neighbouring Djibouti and has carried out several air strikes against the Islamist insurgents, accusing them of sheltering al-Qaeda operatives. |
| Flourishing industry | |
| Pirates have seized dozens of ships from the major shipping routes near Somalia's coast in recent months. | |
| Pirate "mother ships" travel far out to sea and launch smaller boats to attack passing vessels, sometimes using rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). | |
| International navies have been escorting aid deliveries | |
| Authorities in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland say they are powerless to confront the pirates, who have been growing in strength. | |
| In Eyl, where ships are held for ransom, a flourishing local industry has developed. | |
| Last week France circulated a draft resolution urging states to deploy naval vessels and aircraft to combat piracy in the area. | |
| France has intervened twice to free French sailors kidnapped by pirates, with commandos freeing two people whose boat had been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden earlier this month. | |
| After an earlier raid in April, six arrested pirates were handed over to French authorities for trial. | |
| International navies have been escorting humanitarian deliveries to Somalia, where a third of the population needs food aid. |