Somali pirates may extend deadline

[unhappycamper]

Somali pirates may extend deadline
By Malkhadir M. Muhumed - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 14, 2008 7:10:42 EDT

NAIROBI, Kenya — Somali pirates holding an arms-laden Ukrainian tanker off Somalia may extend the deadline on their threat to destroy the vessel, a spokesman said Monday.

In Kiev, angry relatives of the ship’s crew members demanded that Ukraine’s government stop delaying and just pay a multimillion-dollar ransom to the pirates.

The pirates have said they will destroy the MV Faina on Monday night or early Tuesday unless a ransom is paid. They may extend the deadline following requests from the ship’s owner and other unidentified people, pirate spokesman Sugule Ali said.

The pirates were reviewing the deadline to see whether to, “modify it and if that is not possible, to execute it,” Ali told The Associated Press in an interview by satellite telephone from the ship.

The crew members’ relatives tried and failed to meet with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in Kiev over the ransom demand, which began at euro14.7 million ($20 million) and has since appeared to drop. They vowed not to leave the president’s office.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_somalia_pirates_101308/%2e