The ransom went from $20M to $8M to $3.2M since last September. - Ed.
Pirates receive $3.2M for Israeli ship - Press TV
The Israeli-owner of a Ukrainian-flagged arms-loaded ship held by Somali pirates pays 3.2 million dollars in return for the vessel's release.
The MV Faina and its crew-- 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian national-were captured on September 25 in the notorious Somali waters.
The vessel was carrying a cargo of 33 Soviet-type battle tanks, rocket launchers and ammunition, allegedly expected to reach rebels in the Sudanese violent Darfur region.
On Tuesday, a plane from South Africa carrying $ 3.2 million dropped the demanded ransom onto the Faina upon an agreement between the pirates and the ship's owner, Press TV correspondent reported.
MV Faine could embarrass Kenya - Press TV
Kenyan lawmakers are demanding their government to clarify who is the owner of the military cargo aboard the released MV Faina.
The Kenyan Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense which was assigned to investigate the Faina's cargo mystery wants the government to clear the air on the controversy surrounding the real owners of the military equipment aboard the freighter, our Press TV correspondent reported Friday from Nairobi.
The Ukrainian vessel, MV Faina, released on Thursday, Feb 5, is loaded with 33 refurbished T-72 Soviet tanks and crates of light and heavy weapons.
From 10/8/08: A businessman from Odessa with an Israeli passport is the man behind Russian tanks shipment destined for Govt of South Sudan (GOSS) via Mombasa? - Kenya Watch
Nina Karpacheva, the ombudswoman for Ukrainian parliament claims that the man behind the Russian tanks deal (the tanks that are still onboard the hijacked Ukrainian ship, MV Faina, off the coast of Somalia - see latest news here below) is Vadim A., a businessman from Odessa with an Israeli passport.
Source: Der Speigel special report Monday, 06 October 2008 - Investigating the Faina - Looking for the Good Guys off the Somali Coast - By Clemens Höges, Uwe Klussmann and Horand Knaup; Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
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The pirates have lowered the ransom from $20 million to $8 million
Today, Wednesday 08 October 2008, the pirates still hold Ukrainian Faina.
Yesterday, they lowered the ransom from $20 million to $8 million.
Sudan Watch: Israeli owner of MV Faina pays ransom...blogger Ingrid Jones: Last year, I followed this story closely and published several reports on the hijacking of MV Faina but this is the first time I've seen it said that MV Faina was Israeli owned and that its cargo was expected to reach rebels in Darfur. Rumours were that the cargo was destined for Southern Sudan. Interesting. Can it be true that JEM has received considerably heavy military logistical support from Israel? The world's media covered the MV Faina story and (unless I've missed something) nobody mentioned that the vessel was Israeli owned. After five years of the world's spotlight being put on Darfur, we still don't know what is going on in the secret world of the Darfur rebel leaders and their shadowy financiers. I wonder why.
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