The families of a group of Ukrainian sailors held captive by Somali pirates for six months on Thursday made a tearful plea for their release.
"We are calling on (the pirates) to show their humanity and release our loved ones," said Galina Fut, whose husband is among the 24 crew.
The Greek-owned MV Ariana was seized in the Indian Ocean in May.
At a news conference in Kiev on Thursday, relatives of the crew urged the hostage takers and the ship's owner to speed up negotiations for their release.
Fut said the owner had said on October 23 that he was ready to pay the ransom, but the pirate leader had not been in touch.
Ganna Morougova, whose husband is one of the ship's engineers, also urged the owner to hurry up negotiations.
"We want them to come home safe and sound. Anyone who can help, please help us in our trouble," she said tearfully.
The women complained they had not heard from their relatives in months, even by telephone.
"It is awful to think they have been on that ship for six months without any means of communication," Morougova said.
The Maltese-flagged Ariana was captured 250 nautical miles south-west of the Seychelles as it was carrying a cargo of soya from Brazil to the Middle East.
The ship is owned by the Athens-based All Ocean Shipping company, which is in turn owned by a British conglomerate.
In February, the Ukrainian ship Faina, which was carrying tanks and other weapons, was released by Somali pirates after being held for four months in exchange for a ransom estimated at 3.2 million dollars.
Pirates from the east African state seized a Thailand-flagged trawler Thursday, less than a week after taking a British couple hostage from their yacht, and bringing to nine the total number of vessels hijacked off Somalia.
