As of now, the US Navy has surrounded a Ukrainian ship supposedly delivering T-72 tanks to Kenya. Pirates seized the vessel several days ago, buying themselves a heap of trouble. The pirates aren't the only ones in trouble, however; questions are now being asked about where the tanks were headed. Kenya insists that it purchased the weapons, but they don't match Kenya's Western-supplied Army. The United States is concerned that the weapons are intended for Somalia or Sudan, either of which would be both bad and in violation of international embargoes.
The pirates, for their part, seem to think that the weapons were headed for Sudan. They also insist that they were merely enforcing Somalian maritime rights, and ... uh, robbing people. Things probably aren't going to go well for the pirates, but it could get messy if they try to use the weapons on board (which includes small arms and RPGs, as well as the aforementioned tanks). David Axe gives some indication of how a seizure might play out.
--Robert Farley
