NAIROBI, Kenya — A Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks and other heavy weapons sailed Saturday for Kenya with a U.S. military escort, leaving the Somali coast where pirates had held it for more than four months.

MV Faina was heading for the port of Mombasa under its own power, Vadim Alperin, the ship's owner, said in a statement posted on a Russian maritime Web site. It was being escorted by the guided missile destroyer USS Mason and U.S. Navy commandoes were on board the Faina to provide security, he said.

The Navy has watched over the Faina since its Sept. 25 capture by Somali pirates to make sure its cargo of 33 tanks and weapons did not fall into the hands of Somali insurgents believed to be linked to al-Qaida. The Faina and its 20-man crew was freed Thursday after pirates received an airdropped ransom of $3.2 million.

There is still some dispute over who the actual owners of the weapons cargo are. Diplomats have said the cargo was destined for southern Sudan, something the autonomous region has denied. The Kenyan government insists the cargo is for it.

Analysts said the seizure of the Faina was a wake-up call about the danger that piracy posed.

In response, warships from the United States, India, Britain, France, Germany, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and South Korea all joined an anti-piracy campaign, although attacks still continue.