[2] On 25 September 2008, the ship was captured by Somali pirates allegedly under the orders of piracy kingpin Mohamed Abdi Hassan, in the twenty-sixth such attack in 2008.

On 28 September, Viktor Nikolsky, first mate on the Faina, said that Vladimir Kolobkov, the ship's Russian captain, had died from a hypertension-related stroke.

[14] The ship was allegedly heading to Mombasa, Kenya, from Ukraine with 33 Soviet-made T-72 tanks, weapons (including rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns)[6] and ammunition on board, when it was seized.

[16] However, the pirates claim that documents found on board indicate that the arms cargo was destined for Juba, Southern Sudan, instead of Kenya, as originally understood.

[citation needed] The Howard engaged the Faina in pursuit within several hundred yards to stop the unloading of the cargo by the pirates.

On 7 October 2008, because of the rise in hijackings—besides the Faina, some eleven other vessels were hijacked—the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1838, which "calls upon all states interested in the security of maritime activities to take part actively in the fight against piracy on the high seas off the coast of Somalia, in particular by deploying naval vessels and military aircraft.

Puntland Minister of Fisheries Ahmed Said Aw-nur advocated storming the Faina with European or American commandos, saying, "[a] military operation has to be taken.

"[9] On 1 October, Mohammed Jammer Ali, the acting Somali Foreign Minister, said, "[t]he international community has permission to fight with the pirates.