MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia authorized foreign powers on Wednesday to use force against pirates holding a ship loaded with tanks for $20 million ransom, raising the stakes for bandits being watched by the U.S. Navy.
There was no indications, however, that the Americans or anyone else was preparing to take action.
Last week’s hijacking of the Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina — carrying 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, rifles and heavy weapons — was the highest profile act of piracy off this Horn of Africa nation this year. Several U.S. ships patrolled nearby and American helicopters buzzed overhead.
Moscow also has sent a warship to protect the few Russian hostages on board, but it was a week away from the coast of central Somalia where the Faina has been anchored since Sept. 25. Most of the 20 crew members are Ukrainian or Latvian, and one Russian has died, apparently of illness.
Interestingly enough, there’s no MSM coverage about the Iranian ship that pirates captured just days before they grabbed the one with all the Russian tanks on it. The Iranian ship
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