Ukrainian president had ordered to bring sailors home

Yushchenko ordered delegation to go to Oman to bring Ariana sailors home. On Tuesday, a Ukrainian delegation set off to Salalah, a port in southern Oman, to finally bring home 24 Ukrainian nationals from the MV ARIANA, a cargo ship released by pirates already a month ago.

But the abducted crew was forced by the shipowner to operate the vessel, which was left floating without fuel in the Indian Ocean.

The Greek-owned Ariana was hijacked by pirates 250 miles southwest of the Seychelles on May 2. The cargo ship was hijacked en route to the Middle East from Brazil and was carrying 35,000 metric tons of soya. The ransom was paid on December 10.

The pirates say they received a ransom of $2.5 million, with Ukrainian media saying the ransom was $2.8 million, which led to questions if - like in the MV FAINA case - ransom money disappeared.

The Ukrainian delegation led by the deputy head of the Presidential Secretariat, Andriy Honcharuk, and the Chief of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service Mykola Malomuzh left on the instructions of Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko for the Omani port of Salalah.

They will return home with the 24 Ukrainian sailors - including two women and presumably an aborted foetus of five month - from the Ariana on a special flight of a Ukrainian aircraft, the presidential press service reported on Jan. 5.

"The release of Ukrainian sailors from pirate captivity and their return home became possible due to determined and systematic work of state agencies and foreign partners," the report said, but observers in the region and the international media have repeatedly criticized the way the case was handled by the shipowner and governmental groups involved.

"The fight against sea piracy is one of priorities of the activity of the president and the relevant state establishments.
The president personally heads Ukraine's special services during operations to release of vessels from captivity and return them home," the presidential press service cited Honcharuck as saying.
"In fulfilment of the president's decree, the relevant state agencies are completing the preparation of draft bills and other regulations that will lay down the legal basis for Ukraine's joining the Atlanta naval operation of the European Union to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia.

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