The owner of the Ukrainian vessel Faina, which is being held by Somali pirates, has decided to increase the size of the ransom he is prepared to pay for the vessel's release.
"Understanding the complexity of the situation, the ship owner is taking unprecedented steps now. He has decided again - and probably the last time - to increase the sum of the ransom in the hope that the pirates will also display elementary reasonableness," a press release posted on the Internet portal Sovfracht Maritime Bulletin says.
"Naturally, the process of increasing the sum cannot last endlessly," the document says. The owner cited the UN Security Council resolution of December 16, 2008 and suggested that his "financial resources have their limits."
"The ship owner has done everything to offer an acceptable sum of ransom, and it would be unrealistic and naive to hope that he will be able to satisfy the pirates' growing appetites," it said.
