Pirates Hijack Oil Tanker In Brazen Attack

Seizure Off The Kenyan Coast Is Furthest Out To Sea And On Biggest Vessel Yet

(CBS/AP)  Somali pirates hijacked a supertanker hundreds of miles off the Horn of Africa, seizing the Saudi-owned ship loaded with crude and its 25-member crew, the U.S. Navy said Monday.

It appeared to be the largest ship ever seized by pirates.

After the brazen hijacking, the pirates on Monday sailed the Sirius Star to a Somali port that has become a haven for bandits and the ships they have seized, a Navy spokesman said.

The hijacking was among the most brazen in a surge in attacks this year by ransom-hungry Somali pirates. Attacks off the Somali coast have increased more than 75 percent this year, and even the world's largest vessels are vulnerable.

The Sirius Star, commissioned in March and owned by the Saudi oil company Aramco, is 1,080 feet long - about the length of an aircraft carrier - making it one of the largest ships to sail the seas. It can carry about 2 million barrels of oil.

For the U.S. and foreign navies trying to protect shipping, this attack has opened up a whole new front in the pirate wars, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.

The latest incident took place about 500 miles off the coast of Kenya, well out in the Indian Ocean, rather than in the Pirate Alley of the Gulf of Aden, where most of the recent attacks have happened.

"That's an area that is four times the size of Texas," says Commander Jane Campbell of the U.S. Navy. "Greater in size than the entire Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea combined."

To protect themselves, ship captains like Colin Darch, who was hijacked earlier this year, are now being urged to arm their crews.

But as for getting in a gunfight with armed attackers in speedboats, Darch is not so sure, Phillips reports.

"They do have these rocket launchers," Darch says. "And I think a rocket launchers could punch a hole in a ship and well maybe sink it.

"They'd soon scramble up and get aboard, especially if they were shooting at anybody trying to cut the ropes or prevent it."

Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, said the pirates hijacked the ship on Saturday about 450 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya - the farthest out to sea Somali pirates have struck.

By expanding their range, Somali pirates are "certainly a threat to many more vessels," Christensen said. He said the pirates on the Sirius Star were "nearing an anchorage point" at the Somali port town of Eylon Monday.

Somali pirates have seized at least six several ships off the Horn of Africa in the past week, but the hijacking of a supertanker marked a dramatic escalation.

The pirates are trained fighters, often dressed in military fatigues, using speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rockets launchers and various types of grenades.

With most attacks ending with million-dollar payouts, piracy is considered the most lucrative work in Somalia. Pirates rarely hurt their hostages, instead holding out for a huge payday.

The strategy works well: A report last month by a London-based think tank said pirates have raked in up to $30 million in ransoms this year alone.

In Somalia, pirates are better-funded, better-organized and better-armed than one might imagine in a country that has been in tatters for nearly two decades.

They do occasionally get nabbed, however. Earlier this year, French commandos used night vision goggles and helicopters in operations that killed or captured several pirates, who are now standing trial in Paris. A stepped-up international presence of warships recently also appears to have deterred several attacks.

The Sirius Star was sailing under a Liberian flag. The 25-member crew includes citizens of Croatia, Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia. A British Foreign Office spokesman said there were at least two British nationals on board.

An operator with Aramco said there was no one available at the company to comment after business hours. Calls went unanswered at Vela International, the Dubai-based marine company that operated the ship for Aramco.

Classed as a Very Large Crude Carrier, the Sirius Star is 318,000 dead weight tons.

Raja Kiwan, a Dubai-based analyst with PFC Energy, said the hijacking raises "some serious questions" about what is needed to secure such ships on the open seas.

"It's not easy to take over a ship" as massive as oil tankers, which typically have armed guards on board, he said.

But pirates have gone after oil tankers before.

In October, a Spanish military patrol plane thwarted pirates trying to hijack an oil tanker by buzzing them three times and dropping smoke canisters.

On April 21, pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades at a Japanese oil tanker, leaving a hole that allowed several hundred gallons of fuel to leak out, raising fears for the environment.

In September, three pirates in a speed boat fired machine guns at an Iranian crude oil carrier, though the ship escaped after a 30-minute chase.

Warships from the more than a dozen nations as well as NATO forces have focused their anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, increasing their military presence in recent months.

But Saturday's hijacking occurred much farther south, highlighting weaknesses in the international response.

Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of British company Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd, said the increased international presence trying to prevent attacks is simply not enough.

"The coalition has suppressed a number of attacks ... but there will never be enough warships," he said, describing an area that covers 2.5 million square miles.

He also speculated that the crew of the Sirius Star may have had a false sense of security because they were so far out to sea.

He said the coalition warships will have to be "one step ahead of the pirates. The difficulty here is that the ship was beyond the area where the coalition were currently acting."

[zoink29]

the solution to this problem isnt to send an armada of warships into the area....but to arm the tankers themselves....guys in rafts with rpg''s wouldnt stand a chance against an armed tanker and that last comment on the 9-11 japan nepal thing is absurd

[zoink29]

the solution to this problem isnt to send an armada of warships into the area....but to arm the tankers themselves....guys in rafts with rpg''s wouldnt stand a chance against an armed tanker

[ubetchaguts]

All this talk about a Military presence in the waters off Somalia. Does anyone remember what happened the last time we attempted a military operation by one of our most elite? (Hint,Blackhawk Down) It''s pretty obvious that old world laws dont work in this brazen new world, with 70 pirate hijackings so far this year alone...and counting!

[qasaye1]

What you called Piracy is the result of Illegal Fishing and dumping Nuclear Waste off Somali Coast by European, Asian and American companies.These criminal companies must be brought to justice. They are not Pirates but acting as Somali Coastguards.

Those who come from all the way thousand milles to Somali waters inorder to theft our natural resource, keep in mind we will never allow that and will go thousand milles to hijack your cargo ships.

Those who commented here to destoroy the Somali ports with uranium jacketed cluster bombs, hahah.., you are simply idiots. This can never happen, if so, our uranium is AK 47, RPG, and Anti-air craft guns, these simple weapons will kick your *** *** out of Somali Waters.

[guatom]

Yup, you can pick a good used system maybe from Packistan: http://www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/navy/phalanx.html
A cool MARK 15 CLOSE-IN WEAPON SYSTEM. The older radar controlled ones are probably a bargain. When the bad guys get within about 1.5Km, they get to sleep with the virgins.

[credibility2]

Besides pirates, abject poverty and illiteracy, government corruption, etc., excatly what good is Somolia to the rest of the world? Is this country another blight to the globe?

[guatom]

Secrecy at sea? One guy on board with his gps phone can call a local pirate and it''s a done deal. A couple of radar controlled deck guns would get the job done and can probably be bought from Somalian gun runners.

[pachamaxi]

txgrouch2007:

you forgot: 9/11, more than 3000 people killed in the U.S, 75% of the population wanted to go after the terrorist and look now, iraq is not good now, we have to bring our troops home and let the middleast enjoy the 13 billion generously given by the U.S. to rebuild what the middle east destroyed.where is this money?disapeared in the middle east big gvt official pockets rotten by corruption.
is someone can explain me if what is going on in Somalia is the effect of the redistribution of wealth announced by someone now famous?

[slim1h2o]

CIA BLACK OPS MISSION.....I''''D BET THE FARM ON IT.....
Posted by ToldYouSo74

Naw, Today''s Pirates = Yesterdays U.S. trained, freedom fighter, and Allies.

[erich_1-2009]

Let''s see now - Internet search using google

Kenya - Somalia - Odinga - Pirates - Anti-oil drilling for the U.S.

What is the common denominator that keeps coming up?

[jerr11]

Nothing compared to the neocon pirates who have looted the US treasury in these past 8 years.

******** with his able mate Bush.

Billions stolen from US taxpayers.

4199 Killed.

Heckuva job!

Mission Accomplished!

[legacyabq]

hi birdlikyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[dkhorse1]

%u201CIn October, a Spanish military patrol plane thwarted pirates trying to hijack an oil tanker by buzzing them three times and dropping smoke canisters.%u201D

The biggest pirate pu$$ies ever, scared off by a plane overhead dropping smoke canisters? What a deterrent. I guess it works until the children (and I mean children, coming from Africa) go home.

[shanev137]

"They''d soon scramble up and get aboard, especially if they were shooting at anybody trying to cut the ropes or prevent it."

-------------

Sorry but this whole thing sounds a little far fetched to me. How does a little speed boat pull up along side a 1000+ foot supertanker and just "hop on board"? The freaken ship is bigger than an aircraft carrier. Someone is going to have to show me the logistics on this "story".

[nordeck52]

Where''s the Flying Dutchman when you need it? Or better yet... the kraken!! :D

[wtcmedic911]

Qasaye1
If your an example of your countries eduction you might consider going back to somolia and asking for a refund. oh ya... you dont have education in somolia..

[dkhorse1]

As long as other countries take action it%u2019s OK, America CANNOT get involved. If America does anything its Imperialistic.
The horn of Africa is the septic tank of the world, but if America does anything the world snivels.

American war ships should guard ships with American business and leave the others to their respective countries, if those countries even care.

[ffoulkes-2009]

Nato and US where are thou....??

Posted by Demdump at 02:51 PM : Nov 17, 2008
_________________________________________
How, exactly is this more the United States'' business than taking out Sodamned Insane in Iraq was?

[wtcmedic911]

somalia, armpit of the world..... I wish our and other countries SEAL teams could set an example recapture the ships and hang the dead pirates over the rail by their legs. enough it enough. of course we cant do that anymore. america has been castrated...

[psk123-2009]

Perhaps it is time to just start sinking all pirate ships with extreme prejudice. These guys are going to keep doing what they are doing because they know they can get away with it.