Arr! Somali Pirates' Prize With Tanks Owned by Antarcticland?

The international shipping industry is notorious for having odd ownership structures, so it may not mean anything, but it appears that the ownership of the ship MV Faina, seized with 33 1980's-era Soviet tanks and assorted military hardware off the Somali coast, leads to an enigma.

The ship is reported to be US-owned. It was sold twice recently. Once, on March 23, 2007, it was sold by Marabou Shipping to Redrick Co., Ltd. of Belize, and at that time was renamed from Marabou to Faina. It was then placed under the management of Phoenix Logistic. Then on February 11, 2008, management was transferred to Tomex, based in Odessa in Ukraine. Then on March 10 it was sold to Waterlux AG.

Waterlux is reportedly a Panamanian subsidiary of Tomex:

WATERLUX AG

21677

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	Address : 50th Street, Global Plaza Tower, 19th Floor, Suite H, Panama City, Panama c/o Subsidary Company "Tomex" of "Tomex Team Inc.": Ukraine, 65012 Odessa, Mukachevskiy per., 6/5
	Phone : c/oc/o +380 (482) 358000 Fax : c/oc/o +380 (482) 348007
	Number of Ships : 1

There are an awful lot of things in "Global Plaza Tower, 19th Floor, Suite H". What they seem to have in common is a law firm, Cambra La Duke & Company. They specialize in setting up offshore companies, and have three partners: Ricardo and Ana Cambra La Duke and Giovanni Caporaso. Dr. Caporaso has written a bizarre book, Antarcticland Magna Carta, among other unusual works:

The Sovereign Order of Antarcticland, arose from a group of knights established, as a secret Sovereign Order, in 1821 by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen deceptionate by the Tsar Alexander I that did not give great acclaim for the discover of the Antarctic continent. The Sovereign Order of the Knights of Antarcticland claim Sovereignty to the islands in a wedge extending from the South Pole to 60° S latitude between longitudes 90° W and 135° W. Demonstration is that no Country has claimed that area. Now because the world changes, the global warming and the importance of the Anatrctic in a near future, the Regent, Sir Giovanni Caporaso decided to raise the Knights to the obligation of maintain the secret and claimed to the United Nations jus gentium the lands and the sea within 25 miles from the coast of the Antarctic Continent included from 90 degrees west and 135 degrees west and the sovereignty of the Country, that still is in domain of his family and the knights since the 1821.

Antarcticland has an official web site:

http://www.antarcticland.org/