Pirates flourish in war-torn Somalia

Mombassa: Several US Navy ships have converged upon a hijacked vessel off the coast of Somalia. The Ukrainian ship loaded with 33 T-72 tanks, ammunition and rifles was seized last week by pirates, who are reportedly demanding millions of dollars in ransom.

The tiny pirate skiffs are dwarfed by the massive MV Faina. In photographs, taken from a US destroyer, the size comparison is almost comical.

But the situation is serious. The captured Ukrainian vessel off the coast of Somalia is loaded with arms and US Navy says its ships in the area are keeping a watch in an effort to make sure those weapons don't fall into the wrong hands.

Andrew Mwangura has been monitoring piracy for over a decade, and says pirates have made the seas off Somalia some of the most dangerous on the globe.

"Somali piracy is a modern piracy and these people are not joking," Mwangura says.

Piracy has increased dramatically recently off the coast of Somalia and they have gone from taking on smallish cargo vessels to ships as big as that one. Without increased security people feel that the problem will only get worse.

With 25 ships hijacked off the coast of Somalia this year, security experts are worried where that money will eventually be used.

"The absence of a functioning government, a conducive environment for criminal and terrorist groups to come and find a habitat in Somalia," Rashid Abdi of the International Crisis Group says

Somalia has not had an effective government for almost two decades and security experts say that the instability in the war-torn country creates a perfect environment for pirates to flourish.

And they worry that the large amounts of ransom being paid could help fuel the conflict in Somalia and even finance international terror.

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