Tratfor: Strategic Planning Information – Strategic-Planning

Somali pirates have released the crew and ship MV Iran Dayanant after a tense standoff that saw little international press coverage, despite the unusual circumstances surrounding the ship’s contents.

Pirates on the ship, chartered by an Iranian company the US Government says is a front for weapons smuggling to Islamic fighters in the region, began developing burns, losing their hair and dropping dead shortly after hijacking the ship on August 21. Despite this and other unusual circumstances surrounding the vessel, there was little media coverage about it. Instead, the international media opted to cover another hijacked vessel, the Ukranian MV Faina, which is still being held by Somali pirates and is in the same region.

An unconfirmed blog report, quoting an unnamed Russian news source, claims the ship was a large “dirty nuke” sent by Iran and intended to explode near Israeli coastal cities. The blogger contends that Iran purchased radioactive sand from China which was then sealed in barrels. Other sources have claimed the incident to be an Israeli false-flag operation.

As for the DV Iran Dayanant, it is unclear if a ransom had been paid for the ship and crew to be released.