U.S. surrounds hijacked ship near Somalia
Officials question the destination of the pirated vessel's shipment of Russian-built arms.
U.S. Navy / Associated Press
NAIROBI, Kenya -- As additional U.S. warships gathered around a hijacked Ukrainian ship off the coast of Somalia, questions persisted today about where the vessel's military cargo was destined.
The governments of Kenya and Ukraine say the shipment of 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks, ammunition and spare parts was part of a legal sale contracted last year to supply the Kenyan army, according to representatives of both nations.
But U.S. officials, arms experts and maritime officials say the more likely destination was southern Sudan, where the former rebel group Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement, or SPLM, now governs an autonomous region and has been working aggressively over the past three years to transform its ragtag guerrilla army into a professional fighting force.
Ukrainian cargo: An article in Tuesday's Section A about the seizure of a ship by pirates off Somalia referred to the military tanks on board as Russian-made. The tanks came from Ukraine. It is still unclear where in the former Soviet Union they were built.
"We received reports that the cargo was intended for Sudan, so obviously our goal is to maintain watch over the ship while negotiations are taking place," said Lt. Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.
He said "several" U.S. ships had surrounded the hijacked vessel today, but no further actions were planned.
Arms experts questioned why Kenya would purchase Russian-made tanks since its previous suppliers have been the United States, Britain and China. Kenya's current tanks are British-built.
"I'm not aware of Kenya using any [former] Soviet bloc weaponry before, so if they are, that's a major shift," said one arms expert in the region who did not want to be identified.
Southern Sudan, by contrast, has been buying Russian-made tanks over the past year, officials said, including nearly 50 T-54s battle tanks. That deal drew attention in February when one shipment was briefly held up at the port of Mombasa amid postelection turmoil in Kenya.
Andrew Mwangura, head of the Seafarers Assistance Program in Kenya, said at least three arms shipments destined for southern Sudan have moved through Mombasa over the past year.
The Kenyan government, however, insisted today that the hijacked cargo is "important military equipment paid for by the Kenyan taxpayer for use by the Kenyan military."
A government spokesman declined to comment on why the government was purchasing Russian-made tanks or how they fit into the country's military strategy.
"We don't discuss why we need arms," said spokesman Alfred Mutua. He described allegations that the tanks might be sold or transferred to Sudan as "propaganda. We have not had any tanks go from Kenya to Sudan. Kenya makes sure it's not a conduit for any illegal arms."
