Pirates grab Ukrainian ship off Somalia

KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- The pirates who hijacked a ship loaded with military equipment for Kenya are unlikely to know how to unload the tanks on board, experts said Friday.

The 33 T-72 battle tanks weigh more than 40 tons each, requiring special equipment and know-how to move them. The ship, a Ukrainian vessel sailing under the flag of Belize was also carrying ammunition and grenade launchers sold to Kenya by the Ukraine state arms agency, Interfax, the Russian news service, reported.

"If there are tanks on board, I don't think there's a chance in hell they can get them unloaded," a Western diplomat in Nairobi told The New York Times.

U.S. and Russian naval vessels were pursuing the Faina, which was intercepted by pirates Thursday evening about 200 miles off the coast.

Tomax Team Inc., the ship's owner, said the vessel's captain reported three boats with armed men on board had approached the ship, after which contact was lost. There were 21 people reported aboard.