Pirates seize ship carrying tanks, ammo

(CNN) -- A Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and ammunition has been seized by pirates off the coast of Kenya, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told CNN.

The vessel Faina, flying a Belize flag, was headed to the Kenyan port of Mombasa after departing from Nikolayev, Ukraine, according to Lt. Col. Konstantin Sadilov, spokesman for the defense ministry.

He said it was seized by pirates on Thursday not far from its destination.

According to the defense ministry, the ship was carrying 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, tank artillery shells, grenade launchers and small arms.

The weapons were sold to Kenya by Ukraine, said Ukraine Defense Minister Yuri Yekhanurov, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

He said the entire shipment was contracted and carried out by Ukrspetzexport, Ukraine's state arms exports monopoly, and it would know better exactly what was on board.

Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua confirmed to The Associated Press that the East African nation's military had ordered the tanks and spare parts, but he did not provide any more details.

The ship deliberately took a route far from the coast of Somalia, where pirates are known to operate, in an attempt to avoid them, the minister said.

Ukraine's anti-terrorist center in its capital, Kiev, is analyzing the situation and consulting with military and security experts, Sadilov told CNN.

Ukrainian diplomats are also working in Kenya to resolve the situation, he said.

The ship's crew consists of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and a Lithuanian.

The Russian patrol ship Neustrashimy, which left Wednesday for the coast off Somalia, may help crack down on pirates, a source in the Russian Baltic Fleet headquarters told Interfax-AVN on Friday.

And the Russian Navy's commander, Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky, told Interfax that Russia plans to send combat ships to the Somali coast to fight piracy.

"We have such plans for the near future," he said. "However, Russian ships will not be involved in any international operations. They will do this job on their own."

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