(Bloomberg) — Somali pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian ship with a cargo of battle tanks on September 25 are still demanding $8 million to release the vessel and its crew, as foreign navies keep it under close surveillance.

One of the pirates warned that any attempt to free the MV Faina, a Belize-flagged vessel , and its 21 crewmen in a commando-style operation would have "sad consequences," Russian state broadcaster Vesti-24 reported today on its Website.

The vessel won't be released until the $8 million is paid and the sum won't be reduced, he added. They had originally asked for $20 million. "Al Shabaab wanted some weapons from the Ukrainian ship but the pirates rejected their demands," a local official who asked not to be named told Reuters. "Al Shabaab went away after they were rejected by the residents and the pirates. I am sure the group is n

A US Navy spokeswoman says the crew on a hijacked cargo ship laden with tanks and heavy weaponry are, by all indications, in good health.

Lt. Stephanie Murdock, a 5th Fleet spokeswoman in Bahrain, said Monday that American officials are in contact with the master of the Faina. The vessel was seized by pirates late last month with 21 crew on board.

"From all indications everything is fine with the crew members on board," Murdock told The Associated Press. "I haven't heard anything to the contrary."

Somali pirates are holding the Faina, with a crew of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

One of the Russians died soon after the hijacking. The ship was carrying at least 30 Soviet-designed T-72 tanks to Kenya.

The Faina is under surveillance by US warships, including the USS Howard.

A Russian warship, the Neustrashimy, or Intrepid, is also on its way to Somalia.

France, Germany and six other European Union governments said October 1 they will deploy additional warships off the coast of Somalia to fight piracy as soon as next month.

The pirate spokesman distanced himself from Islamic insurgents fighting the government in Somalia, Vesti said, after an Islamic leader said the arms on the ship could help their cause.

The pirates have nothing in common with the Islamic rebels, the unnamed pirate said, adding that "we only need money," according to the Vesti report.

Attacks by pirates off Somalia have surged this year and are running at close to one a day. Commercial shippers have warned they may start routing cargo around Africa, passing the added fuel and time costs on to clients. They've asked for help from Western navies, noting that joint patrols by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have almost eradicated piracy in the Straits of Malacca, the world's previous piracy hot spot.

Somalia pirates have seized more that 30 vessels off the coast of their anarchic country so far this year and received amounts between $18-30 million in ransoms, according to a report by British think-tank Chatham House released earlier this week.

Residents confirmed fears that ransom payments to pirates were being passed onto the Islamist movement and were fuelling the insurgency against President Abdullahi Yusuf's government.