Ocean
The Living Force
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5172770.ece
November 17, 2008
Somali pirates hijack Saudi oil tanker with Britons on board
A Somali pirate off the coast of Hobyo
A huge oil tanker with two British crew members has been seized by Somali pirates in the first attack on a ship laden with oil in the dangerous waters off the east coast of Africa.
The 1,000 ft-long Sirius Star was taken over by pirates on Saturday around 450 nautical miles off Kenya in the Arabian Sea. The large oil tanker, which can hold up to two million barrels of crude oil, is owned by Aramco, a Saudi company, but was sailing under a Liberian flag.
The Foreign Office confirmed that two of those on board were British but could not give any details of their role on the ship. “We are seeking more information on the incident,” a spokesman said.
The Saudi-owned television station al-Arabyia reported this afternoon that the ship had been freed, but both the US Navy and Saudi Aramco, which owns the supertanker, said they had no knowledge of any release
The vast ship and its 25 crew, including members from the UK, Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia, have been under the command of an armed gang for two days. “The vessel is under the pirates’ control,” a spokesman for the US Navy 5th fleet in Bahrain said.
The Saudi ship, which is 330 meters (1,080 feet) long, had been headed for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. The route is a main thoroughfare for fully laden supertankers from the Gulf, the world’s biggest oil exporting region.
Saudi Arabia is the largest of those exporters, sending around 7 million barrels per day to into the global markets.
Pirates, often based in anarchic Somalia, have made the shipping routes off east Africa among the most dangerous in the world but this is the first time an oil tanker has been seized.
Earlier this month it was announced that Britain would take the lead in a multi-national taskforce designed to tackle the heavily armed gangs patrolling the Arabian Sea. One of the Royal Navy’s first interventions was to subdue a gang of pirates who tried to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia last week.
A band of Somali raiders opened fire on two Navy assault craft carrying Marines armed with machineguns. Three pirates were killed as the commandos returned fire.
In recent months the prevalence of attacks has seen a marked escalation from one every couple of weeks to as many as four in a single day.
A leading Norwegian shipping group responded to the latest attacks today by suspending its routes through the perilous region.
Terje Storeng, chief executive of Odfjell, said: “We will no longer expose our crew to the risk of being hijacked and held for ransom by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
“The re-routing will entail extra sailing days and later cargo deliveries,” he said. “This will incur significant extra cost, but we expect our customers’ support and contribution.
“The efforts that are being made do not seem to put an effective end to what can best be described as ruthless, high level organised crime.”
The company said it would resume sailing through the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal once sufficient protection is in place or action is taken to prevent pirate attacks in the area.
November 17, 2008
Somali pirates hijack Saudi oil tanker with Britons on board
A Somali pirate off the coast of Hobyo
A huge oil tanker with two British crew members has been seized by Somali pirates in the first attack on a ship laden with oil in the dangerous waters off the east coast of Africa.
The 1,000 ft-long Sirius Star was taken over by pirates on Saturday around 450 nautical miles off Kenya in the Arabian Sea. The large oil tanker, which can hold up to two million barrels of crude oil, is owned by Aramco, a Saudi company, but was sailing under a Liberian flag.
The Foreign Office confirmed that two of those on board were British but could not give any details of their role on the ship. “We are seeking more information on the incident,” a spokesman said.
The Saudi-owned television station al-Arabyia reported this afternoon that the ship had been freed, but both the US Navy and Saudi Aramco, which owns the supertanker, said they had no knowledge of any release
The vast ship and its 25 crew, including members from the UK, Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia, have been under the command of an armed gang for two days. “The vessel is under the pirates’ control,” a spokesman for the US Navy 5th fleet in Bahrain said.
The Saudi ship, which is 330 meters (1,080 feet) long, had been headed for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. The route is a main thoroughfare for fully laden supertankers from the Gulf, the world’s biggest oil exporting region.
Saudi Arabia is the largest of those exporters, sending around 7 million barrels per day to into the global markets.
Pirates, often based in anarchic Somalia, have made the shipping routes off east Africa among the most dangerous in the world but this is the first time an oil tanker has been seized.
Earlier this month it was announced that Britain would take the lead in a multi-national taskforce designed to tackle the heavily armed gangs patrolling the Arabian Sea. One of the Royal Navy’s first interventions was to subdue a gang of pirates who tried to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia last week.
A band of Somali raiders opened fire on two Navy assault craft carrying Marines armed with machineguns. Three pirates were killed as the commandos returned fire.
In recent months the prevalence of attacks has seen a marked escalation from one every couple of weeks to as many as four in a single day.
A leading Norwegian shipping group responded to the latest attacks today by suspending its routes through the perilous region.
Terje Storeng, chief executive of Odfjell, said: “We will no longer expose our crew to the risk of being hijacked and held for ransom by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
“The re-routing will entail extra sailing days and later cargo deliveries,” he said. “This will incur significant extra cost, but we expect our customers’ support and contribution.
“The efforts that are being made do not seem to put an effective end to what can best be described as ruthless, high level organised crime.”
The company said it would resume sailing through the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal once sufficient protection is in place or action is taken to prevent pirate attacks in the area.
