Huge ransom paid to Somali pirates

The largest ransom ever paid to Somali pirates has been dropped onto the deck of a Greek-flagged oil tanker carrying two million barrels of oil.

The ransom delivered on Sunday is believed to be between $5.5m and $7m, according to unnamed sources interviewed by the Reuters news agency.

With 28 crew members on board, the Maran Centaurus oil tanker was captured in November as it was crossing the Indian Ocean, northeast of the Seychelles islands.

The tanker was sailing from Kuwait to the United States.

The European Union's anti-piracy force says the crew includes one Romanian, two Ukrainians, nine Greeks and 16 Filipinos.

Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Program told journalists in December that the hijacking was a "jackpot to the pirates" because a tanker full of oil is worth millions of dollars.

The Greek ship was the second largest oil tanker seized by Somali pirates.

In 2008, pirates hijacked the Saudi-owned Sirius Star. They eventually released the ship for a reported $3m ransom.

World powers, including the European Union, Nato and the United States are running naval patrols off the Somali coast in an effort to protect commercial shipping.

In response, the pirates have extended their reach, attacking ships up to 1,800km from Somalia, deep in the Indian Ocean.

Al Jazeera

Somali pirates hijack oil tanker

Somali pirates have seized an oil tanker, with 28 crew members on board, in the waters around East Africa.

Officials on Monday confirmed the hijacking of the Greek-owned Maran Centaurus, which was carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia to the United States.

Commander John Harbour, a spokesman for the EU naval force patrolling the region, said on Monday that the 300,000-tonne ship had been hijacked the previous day off the coast of Somalia.

The ships 28-member crew is thought to consist of 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and one Romanian.

Officials could not immediately say how many barrels of oil were on board, but its value would be in the millions of dollars.

Although pirates have successfully hijacked dozens of vessels in the last several years, Sunday's attack appears to be only the second ever on an oil tanker.

"This is a jackpot to the pirates," Andrew Mwangura, from the East African Seafarers Assistance organisation in Nairobi, told Al Jazeera.

In November 2008, pirates hijacked the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, which held two million barrels of oil valued at about $100m.

The tanker was released last January for a reported $3m ransom.

Piracy in the region has increased despite the ramping up of international navies patrolling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.

Al Jazeera

Pirates drown after taking ransom

January 11, 2009

SIX Somali pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of the ransom when their boat capsized as it left the vessel, their leader said yesterday.

Four others were missing with their share of the $3m payoff, which been parachuted on to the tanker on Friday, Mohamed Said said by phone from the port of Harardhere.

"The small boat that was carrying those killed and eight who survived was overloaded ... they were afraid of a chase from outsiders (foreign navies of the combined maritime forces)," he said.

Mohamud Aden, a resident of the port off which the tanker had been anchored watched by the warships, said: "The capsize was an accident. The pirates were full of joy and partially frightened by the presence of foreign war machines and were speeding.

That was a tragedy for the pirates." In all, several dozen raiders had held the ship and its 25-member crew, including two Britons, to ransom.

They were well-armed and disciplined but as soon as they got the ransom a shootout nearly broke out, it was reported. The 1,080ft Sirius Star, owned by Aramco, is the largest vessel hijacked by the Somali pirates.

It was seized in November in the Indian Ocean, well outside the raiders' usual operating area. The tanker was carrying 2m barrels of oil, more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output and worth an estimated $100m.

Its capture was seen as a dramatic demonstration of the pirates' ability to strike hundreds of miles offshore. The tanker's crew included second officer Jim Grady, from Renfrewshire, and chief engineer Peter French, from Co Durham.

Yesterday they were looking forward to coming home, though latest reports said the ship was still anchored off Harardhere. More than 100 ships were attacked off the Horn of Africa last year and maritime officials said the problem was out of control.

The pirates were said to have raked in $120m and still hold some 14 merchant ships and 300 crew.

The Sirius Star's release came as the US Fifth Fleet announced that a taskforce targeting piracy would be launching later this month. Nato and the European Union have warships in the Gulf and the Chinese navy has said it will assist.

Source: The AustralianDrowned Somali Pirates
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