Pirates Must Shit or Get Off Pot Soon

The Russian are Coming

The Baltic Fleet guard ship (SKR) Neustrashimyy is transiting the Suez Canal on Tuesday and will set course for the Somali littoral according to high-level sources in the Navy General Staff.

After passing through the Suez, Neustrashimyy will transit the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and end up in the Arabian Sea around Somalia. Before her stands the mission of defending shipping against piracy, convoy of Russian flagged ships and protection of Russian crews and crewmembers," the Admiral said.

According to the Admiral, there is a real threat of capture of Russian ships in the Gulf of Aden around the Horn of Africa.

Earlier the Russian Navy spokesman K1R Igor' Dygalo told RIA Novosti that if the situation around the Ukrainian flagged ship Faina isn't settled by the time the Neustashimyy gets to her assigned area, then the ship will be subject to action by foreign ships which, for the time being, control the maritime situation and are tracking the situation surrounding the ship.

He reminded everyone that UN resolutions adopted recently, aimed at focusing international attention on the problem of piracy, is the foundation of Russian Navy participation in curbing piracy in the Somali littoral.

The SKR Neustrashimyy departed Baltiysk on the 24th of September, setting sail for Somalia to support the security of shipping along the coast of that country. In part, the possibility of the Russian vessel assisting in the freeing of the Faina, which was taken by pirates on 25 September, is not excluded.

The ship was carrying weapons, including 33 T-72 tanks. There is one Latvian, three Russians and 17 Ukrainians on board. The captain, Vladimir Kolobkov, who was a Russian, died. Pirates are threatening to kill the hostages in the event of an operation to free them by force.

According to western analysts, Somali pirates have captured about 60 foreign vessels for ransom in 2008. Their total profits this year may reach 30 million dollars.

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