The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: News

In this Sept. 29, 2008, file photograph originally provided by the U.S. Navy, the pirated merchant ship MV Faina is seen from a U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser in the Indian Ocean. A ransom has been delivered to Somali pirates who seized the Ukrainian ship which was carrying tanks, heavy weapons and about 20 crew members, a spokesman for the ship's owners said Wednesday. (AP Photo/U.S.Navy, Petty Officer Jason Zalasky)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - As U.S. Navy ships looked on, Somali pirates sped away Thursday with $3.2 million in ransom after releasing an arms-laden Ukrainian freighter - ending a four-month standoff that focused world attention on piracy off Somalia's lawless coast.

The Navy said it couldn't seize the bandits for fear of endangering 147 other seamen still held hostage on other hijacked ships.

So, within sight of two nearby U.S. warships, the pirates counted the cash - air-dropped by parachute - then took off in motorboats, pirate Aden Abdi Omar said, speaking to The Associated Press by satellite phone after arriving in the central Somali town of Harardhere.

"We are not holding it (the ship) anymore," said Omar, adding that more than two dozen pirates made their escape aboard motorized skiffs, navigating the choppy waters in small groups.

The $3.2 million booty - among the largest-ever reported ransoms - would be divvied up among the pirates, he said.

The seizure of the MV Faina, loaded with Soviet-era tanks and other heavy weapons, was one of the most brazen in a surge of pirate attacks on shipping off the Somali coast. Vessels from the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet quickly surrounded the cargo ship after it was seized Sept. 25, to make sure the arms on board did not get into the hands of Somali insurgents believed to have links to al-Qaida.

The hijacking brought an unprecedented naval response. Warships from countries including the United States, India, Britain, France, Germany, China, Saudi Arabia and South Korea have all joined the anti-piracy campaign, though attacks continue.

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