VOA标准英语2008年-US Warships Surround Hijacked Ship in Somalia

The U.S. Navy says more American warships¹ have been sent to the east coast of Somalia, where a vessel² carrying more than 30 tanks and other military equipment is being held by pirates. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, there are conflicting reports about the final destination of the cargo³.
　
Photo released by the U.S. Navy shows Somali pirates in small boats alongside the hijacked⁴ 'Faina', 28 Sep 2008

The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain declined to say how many of its warships are stationed off the coast of central Somalia. But spokeswoman Lieutenant⁶ Stephanie Murdock says several have joined the Navy destroyer USS Howard, which was deployed⁷ to the area earlier to keep an eye on the hijacked MV Faina and its sensitive cargo.

"There are several Fifth Fleet ships currently in the vicinity of Motor Vessel Faina," she said. "In addition to visual watch, they have got basic bridge-to-bridge communication with the ship, so they are monitoring the situation."

About 60 Somali pirates operating from the central Somali town of Haradhere seized the Ukrainian-operated ship Thursday as it sailed toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

The pirates are holding 20 Russian, Ukrainian, and Moldovan crew members, 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks, and a substantial number of rocket-propelled grenade launchers, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition⁸. They have demanded a $20 million ransom⁹ for their release. The ship is believed to be anchored about 11 kilometers off Somalia's eastern coast.

With permission from the pirates, one of the Russian hostages spoke⁵ to VOA by satellite telephone. Identifying himself as First Mate Viktor Nikolsky, he confirmed reports from Moscow that the ship's Russian captain Vladimir Kolobkov has died of natural causes.

"He died due to high blood pressure," he said. "Now, I am the captain."

A Russian frigate¹⁰ is also heading to Somalia, amid worries that the hardware could end up in the hands of an ambitious factional leader or militant¹¹ al-Qaida-linked Islamists, who have been waging a bloody¹² insurgency¹³ against Somalia's Ethiopia-backed government since 2007.

The spokesman for the Haradhere-based pirates Sugule Ali tells VOA that his group has no intention of keeping or selling any of the ship's cargo. Ali says they are only interested in securing the ransom. He says there can only be two ways to resolve the stand-off - pay the ransom or watch everyone on board die.

The Kenyan government says it purchased the tanks and arms for its military and insists the ship's final destination was Mombasa. But the head of the Mombasa-based Seafarers' Assistance Program Andrew Mwangura says there is evidence to suggest that the consignment¹⁴ was destined¹⁵ for southern Sudan.

"According to our records, since October last year, there were four ships with the same cargo, the same material and the destination of the cargo was southern Sudan," he said.

The government of South Sudan vehemently¹⁶ denies it has purchased or received any military hardware during the past year.

Southern Sudanese rebels fought a two-decade-long civil war with the government in Khartoum before signing a peace agreement in 2005. But the accord has not been fully¹⁷ implemented¹⁸ and tension has been rising between the rivals in recent months.

 

1 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

4 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

9 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

10 frigate   

n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰

参考例句：

• An enemy frigate bore down on the sloop.一艘敌驱逐舰向这只护航舰逼过来。
• I declare we could fight frigate.我敢说我们简直可以和一艘战舰交战。

11 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

12 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

13 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

14 consignment   

n.寄售；发货；委托；交运货物

参考例句：

• This last consignment of hosiery is quite up to standard.这批新到的针织品完全符合规格。
• We have to ask you to dispatch the consignment immediately.我们得要求你立即发送该批货物。

15 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

16 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

18 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句