MOGADISHU, Sept 29: US Navy ships on Monday surrounded a ship seized by Somali pirates carrying tanks and other weapons for which they have demanded a 20 million dollar ransom, officials said.

There was confusion over the intended recipient of the tanks, with the US Navy claiming it was destined for Sudan while Kenya and Ukraine insisting the shipment was for Kenya.

US Navy ships kept watch as pirates moored the MV Faina off the notorious Indian Ocean buccaneer lair of Harard here with their most spectacular bounty in close to 60 hijackings this year.

The US Navy said the destroyer USS Howard “is in visual range of MV Faina, which is anchored off the Somalia coast near the harbour city of Hobyo.”

“My crew is actively monitoring the situation, keeping constant watch on the vessel and the waters in the immediate vicinity,” the ship’s commanding officer, Curtis Goodnight, said in a statement.

In a second statement, the US Navy command said several ships were now in the area to support the USS Howard.

The Russian navy said on Saturday that it had despatched a warship, the Neustrashimy (Fearless), to the region.

The ship’s crew of 21 consists of Ukrainians, Russians and Latvians but the ship’s captain died of an illness on board, according to Russian television.

The pirates have demanded a ransom of 20 million dollars but doubts surfaced over who might pay.

When the Belize-flagged ship was seized last week, the Kenyan government said it was the owner of the shipment, which it said was part of a deal with Ukraine.

The US Navy claimed that the cargo was ultimately destined for Sudan. “We have a report indicating that the cargo and the shipment was headed to Sudan,” said Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet.

A Kenyan defence ministry spokesman denied the claim. “The Kenyan and Ukrainian governments have all the documents to prove that this cargo belongs to the Kenyan government and not some unknown buyers in Sudan,” spokesman Bogita Ongeri told AFP.

“I really doubt whether the US has the right information. And I don’t think that the US Navy has the jurisdiction to talk about this issue,” he added.

Southern Sudanese army spokesman Major General Peter Parnyang Daniel rejected claims the tanks belonged to south Sudan. The US statement was also denied by a Ukrainian official.

A spokesman for the pirates told AFP via satellite phone that the MV Faina and its crew would be released if a ransome was paid.

“What we are awaiting eagerly is the 20 million dollars (13.7 million euros), nothing less, nothing more,” Sugule Ali said, apparently lowering the ransom from an earlier reported figure of 35 million dollars.

According to the Ukrainian defence ministry, the MV Faina is carrying 33 Soviet-type T-72 tanks and other military supplies.

A Somali elder speaking to AFP from a coastal area near Harardhere confirmed that foreign navy forces were in sight.

“The pirates made contacts with friends on the ground and they are saying that at least two warships came close to them, I believe they have no chances of escaping with the shipment,” Ali Harun said.

Andrew Mwangura, who runs the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, said that “a US helicopter is flying overhead to prevent the pirates from offloading ammunition from the ship.” According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirates have carried out at least 56 successful attacks on foreign ships since the start of the year, 13 of which are still being held.

Piracy along Somalia’s long, un-patrolled coastline on the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden started years ago as an effort to deter foreign fishing boats depleting the country’s maritime resources.

It has evolved into a well-organised industry, with pirates armed to the teeth targeting anything from yachts to huge merchant vessels and demanding huge ransoms.

Somalia’s north-eastern tip juts out into the Indian Ocean and commands access to the Gulf of Aden, a key international maritime route leading to the Suez Canal and through which an estimated 30 per cent of the world’s oil transits.—AFP