The US Navy Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer USS Howard is keeping a sharp eye on Somalian Pirates who have taken over the Ukrainian ship Faina filled with 33 Russian T-72 tanks.The Somali pirates want US$20 million before they will release the ship.
Interestingly the Russians themselves have sent their own warship The Russian missile frigate RFS Neustrashimy (fearless) to the area and the USS Howard is said to be waiting for them to take over the situation.
If the Pirates attempt to unload any of the Russian Weapons from the Faina, then I think we can expect some naval action off the Somalian coastline, although I dont know if the USS Howard would attack a Ukrainian ship just yet.If anyone has an itchy trigger finger I would think it would be the Russians. I would expect the USS Howard to move away to a safe distance and allow the RFS Neustrashimy to open fire. The Russians never seem to take any shit when it comes to standoffs.
It will be interesting to see how this unfold, I hope that the USS Howard and the RFS Neustrashimy co-operate with each other, it will be a good chance to help improve relations between the US and Russia, even in a small way.
Russian, American, Malaysian and French warships have been involved in patrolling the dangerous waters off the Somali coastline where pirate attacks are becoming all to common.
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