The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, detained a Ukrainian citizen who seized a ship in the Indian Ocean and demanded a ransom for its release, the SBU reported on July 21.
This is the first case in the history of Ukraine when a person is charged with piracy (article 446 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), according to SBU.
The SBU conducted a special operation to detain the pirate in his hometown Mykolaiv, a southern port city in Ukraine. Since his arrival from Indonesia, he has “changed his passports and place of residence several times,” according to SBU.
The man was not identified by name.
According to SBU, the man got a job in an international company that protects commercial ships from pirates and seized a ship that he was protecting himself.
The man demanded $500,000 and that the ship changed course. After four days of negotiations, representatives of the shipping company managed to persuade the pirate to surrender his weapon and free the ship for a reward of $6,000.
But after returning to the ship of the security company, the man seized its weapons arsenal, threatened to throw all the weapons overboard and demanded $100,000. The company refused to pay. The Ukrainian threw some weapons overboard before he was stopped by force.
A handout photo of a Ukrainian man arrested on suspicion of piracy. (Security Service of Ukraine) (ssu.gov.ua)
The man could not be immediately arrested, as neutral waters are not subject to the jurisdiction of any state.
The man was charged with piracy, defined by the Ukrainian law as “the use of violence, robbery or other hostile acts against the crew or passengers of a sea or river vessel.” Bail was not yet set.
