The 21 crew members aboard the Faina, a Ukrainian cargo ship captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia in September, have sent a letter to Kiev saying they have run out of food, water and fuel.

Mikael Voitenko, editor of the 'Sofrakhta' journal, which is closely monitoring the story, said he received a letter on Tuesday saying the ship was out of vital supplies.

“We been here for 47 days now. Water, food and fuel have run out.” the letter read.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ukraine claimed that it recently replenished stocks on board the vessel. However, this latest letter seems to suggest the contrary.

The Ukrainian ship was reportedly bound for Kenya when it was captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia on 25 September. The ship was transporting thirty-three T-52 tanks as well as other arms.

The pirates have said that they will kill the hostages if any attempt is made to liberate them.

The crew is made up of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and a Latvian.

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