A man claiming to be a spokesman for the Somali pirates who seized a ship laden with Russian tanks has said they want US$20 million to release the vessel.

Sugule Ali said others who had made earlier ransom demands did not speak for the pirates who hijacked the Ukrainian-operated cargo ship Faina last Thursday.

Ali spoke to The Associated Press yesterday from the deck of the Faina via satellite phone. He handed the phone to the ship's captain, who also spoke to AP, to prove his location.

Ali said, "We want ransom, nothing else. We need US$20 million for the safe release of the ship and the crew."

The captain of the hijacked ship, Viktor Nikolsky, said that a Russian sailor had died yesterday because of hypertension.

Nikolsky said the other crew members were fine and that he could see three ships about a mile away, including one flying an American flag.

This ship is believed to be the USS Howard destroyer, a heavily armed warship that took up a position yesterday off the coast of Somalia, apparently to ensure the pirates didn't attempt to remove any of the tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from the ship.

Ali said planes had been flying over the Faina and warned against any nation taking military action to regain the ship.

He said, "If we are attacked, we will defend ourselves until the last one of us dies."

The ship was on its way to Kenya with a cargo of 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial quantity of ammunition and spare parts, ordered by the Kenyan government.

In a rare gesture of cooperation, the Americans appeared to be keeping an eye on the Faina until the Russian missile frigate Neustrashimy, or Intrepid, reaches the area.

US Navy Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US 5th Fleet, said the USS Howard had the Faina in sight yesterday.

Christensen said the Navy had tried to communicate with the Faina's crew but so far had received no response.

Pirate attacks have surged this year with 24 reported in Somalia and 18 in Nigeria, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily September 29, 2008)