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Hijacked Arms 'Bound For Sudan'
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Sep 29, 2008 - 6:58:30 AM

3:06pm UK, Monday September 29, 2008

Weapons on a Ukrainian ship hijacked by Somali pirates are heading for unknown buyers in Sudan, according to the US Navy.

Somali pirates in small boats hijack the MV Faina

It had previously been thought the arms shipment, including T-72 tanks, grenade launchers and ammunition, was bound for Kenya.

But it is not known who exactly in Sudan the weapons were meant for, Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a deputy spokesman for the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain, said.

"We are aware that the actual cargo was intended for Sudan, not Kenya," he said.

US Navy vessels, including the destroyer USS Howard, are monitoring the MV Faina, which was hijacked and anchored last week off the Somalian coast near the town of Hobyo.

"There are now several Fifth Fleet ships in the vicinity," Lt Christensen said.

"Our goal is to maintain a vigilant and visual watch over the ship while negotiations take place."

The pirates are demanding $20 million ransom for the ship and its 21 Ukrainian, Russian and Latvian crew members. One Russian has died due to sickness since the hijack.

The UN has imposed an arms embargo on weapons headed to Sudan's Darfur conflict zone.

But the ban does not cover other weapons sales to the government in the Sudanese capital Khartoum or the autonomous government in the south.

The US also fears the weapons on board could fall into the hands of al Qaeda-linked Islamic insurgents who have been fighting the UN-backed Somali transitional government since late 2006.

Pirates have made 24 reported attacks off Somalia this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre.