The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said that difficult talks are being held with Somali pirates on the release of the Ariana, a ship with a crew of 24 Ukrainian citizens, ministry spokesman Vasyl Kyrylych has said.
“Talks are continuing between the representatives of ship-owners and the pirates on the release of the Ariana vessel. The details of the negotiating process have not been disclosed, however, it is obvious that talks are difficult,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.
“As for the health of hostages, they have long been in the conditions of restricted opportunities, therefore, it’s hard to qualify the state of their health as satisfactory,” he said.
Kyrylych said that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry was taking all of the measures required to free the hostages as soon as possible. Moreover, the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece is in constant contact with the company operating the ship in order to resolve the problem as soon as possible.
As reported, Somali pirates seized the Maltese-flagged ship Ariana operated by Greece’s Alloceans Shipping Co. Ltd. in the Gulf of Aden on May 2, 2009. All of the 24 crewmembers are citizens of Ukraine.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that one of two female members of the 24-strong crew “risks death” without proper medical treatment, according to a Ukrainian doctor who spoke to her by phone from the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
