Somalis Vow To Take Ship Back From Pirates

Port Official Says Force Will Be Used If Necessary Should Supertanker Anchor Near Port

(CBS/AP)  A Somali official has vowed to rescue a hijacked Saudi oil supertanker "by using force if necessary."

Abdullkadir Musa is the deputy sea port minister in northern Somalia's Puntland region, which is a hotspot for piracy. He says that if the ship anchors anywhere near Eyl - where the U.S. says it's heading - then his forces will rescue it.

The supertanker was carrying a crew of 25 and was laden with 2 million barrels of crude oil. It was hijacked over the weekend.

The ship's owners grappled with how to respond Tuesday, as naval forces patrolling the region said they would not intervene to stop or free the captured vessel.

With few other options, shipowners in past piracy cases have ended up paying ransoms for their ships, cargos and crew.

NATO said it would not divert any of its three warships from the Gulf of Aden and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet also said it did not expect to send ships to try to intercept the MV Sirius Star. The tanker was seized over the weekend about 450 nautical miles off the Kenyan coast, the latest in a surge of pirate attacks this year.

Never before have Somali pirates seized such a giant ship so far out to sea.

Somalis on shore were stunned by the gigantic vessel - as long as an aircraft carrier at 1,080 feet - as it passed just off the coast on route to Eyl.

"As usual, I woke up at 3 a.m. and headed for the sea to fish, but I saw a very, very large ship anchored less than three miles off the shore," said Abdinur Haji, a fisherman near Harardhere, a pirate stronghold where the ship apparently anchored overnight, some 265 miles by land from Eyl.

"I have been fishing here for three decades, but I have never seen a ship as big as this one," he he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "There are dozens of spectators on shore trying to catch a glimpse of the large ship, which they can see with their naked eyes."

He said two small boats floated out to the ship and 18 men - presumably other pirates - climbed aboard with ropes woven into a ladder.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Tuesday called the hijacking "an outrageous act" and said, "piracy, like terrorism, is a disease which is against everybody, and everybody must address it together." Speaking during a visit to Athens, he did not elaborate on what steps, if any, the kingdom would take to better protect its vital oil tankers.

It is not known if the Sirius Star had a security team on board.

Executives from Dubai-based company that owns and operates the vessel, Vela International Marine Ltd., a subsidiary of Saudi oil company Aramco, released a statement Tuesday saying they had been in contact with the hijackers and were "awaiting further contact from the pirates in control of the vessel".

"Our first and foremost priority is ensuring the safety of the crew," Salah B. Ka’aki, President & CEO of Vela International Marine Ltd. Said in the statement. "We are in communication with their families and are working toward their safe and speedy return."

It made no mention of a ransom or contacts with the bandits, but such companies have little choice but to pay out huge ransoms, usually totaling around $1 million, to ensure the safety of the crew and the vessel's return.

The Sirius Star's cargo is worth about $100 million at current prices, but the pirates have no way to unload it from the tanker.

In Vienna, Ehsan Ul-Haq, chief analyst at JBC Energy, said the seizure was not affecting oil prices, since traders are focused instead on "the overall economy."

The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet said Tuesday it was monitoring the situation but didn't expect to send warships to surround the vessel as it has done with a Ukrainian ship loaded with tanks and other weaponry the was seized off the Somali coast on Sept. 25 and remains in pirate hands.

"I don't anticipate any U.S. ships on station," said Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the 5th Fleet, speaking from its headquarters in Bahrain.

He would not elaborate on how the Navy was watching the hijacked tanker.

The U.S. Navy said the hijacking took place Saturday. The statement posted on Vela's Web site said the ship was hijacked Sunday. The discrepancy could not immediately be explained.

Attacks by Somali pirates have surged this year as bandits have become bolder, better armed and capable of operating hundreds of miles from shore.

A coalition of warships from eight nations, as well as from NATO and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, is patrolling a critical zone in the Gulf of Aden leading to and from the Suez Canal. That's where most of the more than 80 attacks this year have occurred.

The Saudi tanker, however, was seized far to the south of the patrolled zone, according the U.S. Navy.

"NATO's mandate is not related to interception of hijacked ships outside the patrol area," said alliance spokesman James Appathurai. "I'm not aware that there's any intention by NATO to try and intercept this ship."

Meanwhile, a new cargo ship has been hijacked off the Somalia coast - the latest in a series of attacks by pirates operating out of the African country, the U.S. Navy said Tuesday.

Navy Commander Jane Campbell of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet says the 26,000-ton bulk cargo carrier was attacked Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden.

She said the ship was flying a Hong Kong flag but is operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.

The status of the crew or its cargo were not known. Campbell says the ship is likely heading toward an anchorage site off the Somali coast.

The ship's name or other details were not immediately known.

[shanev137]

There''s no fricken way that little 15 foot "speed boat" in that video could pull up next to a 1000 foot long supertanker, and then the pirates just hop aboard.

What do you think, we all just fell off the apple truck yesterday?

[ajaxtheleast]

Is there any way not to love these guys ??

With a FULL load of oil and the threat to
the environment they now dont have to
"sneak" anywhere,

Just chug on into the Gulf Of Mexico and
with a polite diplomatic request
as the alternative Paulson''s
seven hundred billion big
ones is theirs.

[shanev137]

The freeboard on these massive ships is like 80 feet. That would be like trying to scale an 8 story building that''s bobbing up and down, while you had a heavy gun and ammo strapped to your back.

Sorry, I''ll have to see the YouTube video first before I believe the skinnys pulled this one off.

[apitaly]

I agree with anon00.... what better way of funding Al Qaeda... The ships need to carry rocket launchers and machine guns too...

[u-r-right]

Could this be another attempt to revive oil prices?

Something seems staged here to me.

[kwiz69]

I wouldn''t doubt that the US has some covert operatives involved in this piracy -- it would be just like Bush -- He let Osadam ben hoochie leave after 911-- so i wouldn''t put something like this past him

[panhandlpete]

Do you suppose they will tell ALL the story....sometime? Why wouldn''t the Saudias make use of the surveillance satellite system to determine WHERE the pirates came from and pursue with determination? They are supposed to be able to read your tag number, so surely they could see a ship/boat near a giant ship.

Sure seems like an inside job where a rope ladder was thrown overboard for the rest to board the vessel. Or, is it just a planned ''money transfer'' scheme if the pirates do not intend to harm the crew?

[mytoosense]

Could someone explain to me why the USA can''t roll in there and take the ship back while waisting anyone who even looks like they object?
Are we afraid of reprisals from the country of somolia? the Ohio National Guard could kick their asss.


It''s not as if they can hide this ill gotten booty!
With todays spy satellites I''m suprised pirates can get away with anything.

[gop_will_win]

Could someone explain to me why the USA can''''t roll in there and take the ship back while waisting anyone who even looks like they object?
Are we afraid of reprisals from the country of somolia? the Ohio National Guard could kick their asss.


It''''s not as if they can hide this ill gotten booty!
With todays spy satellites I''''m suprised pirates can get away with anything.


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

Posted by mytoosense
==========================
Why should we waste our tax money for this? The Saudis have lots of money, let them solve this.

[longtree-2009]

any nation state who has had their ships taken by the pirates should have the right to wage war on somalia and carpet bomb it until it surrenders all pirates to be hung. in the meantime, no ship should sail through those waters without being armed with guns, naval cannon, to begin shooting anyone approaching within 2 hundred yards, shoot to kill without warning. just blow them up out of the water.

[glenn_lewis]

Lord Bingham has said there was "no hard evidence" that Iraq had defied UN resolutions "in a manner justifying resort to force". Therefore, the action by the UK and US was "a serious violation of international law,"
YET, WHILE THE U.S. HAS CONTINUED TO HARASS IRAN, A NON-AGGRESSOR STATE, IT DOES NOTHING TO PROTECT AGAINST PIRATES BECAUSE IT IS, ITSELF, A PIRTATE!

[paidgopshill]

This is yet another ground floor opportunity for Blackwater USA!

[gop_will_win]

Lord Bingham has said there was "no hard evidence" that Iraq had defied UN resolutions "in a manner justifying resort to force". Therefore, the action by the UK and US was "a serious violation of international law,"
YET, WHILE THE U.S. HAS CONTINUED TO HARASS IRAN, A NON-AGGRESSOR STATE, IT DOES NOTHING TO PROTECT AGAINST PIRATES BECAUSE IT IS, ITSELF, A PIRTATE!


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

Posted by glenn_lewis
=====================
Our pirates are good, their pirates are evil.

[drinuk]

In the Immortal words of that great American Randy Newman...."Drop the BIG ONE on them" what good are they to this world, Whoooosh !! ?@%?? Bang !

[rf35]

Quick...somebody call Orlando Bloom! He''ll take care of this.

[gop_will_win]

Yo ho, yo ho, a Pirates Life for ME!


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

Posted by DaVicar1
=============================
Come on Flapjack, the fish await.

[andrew_693]

well after somalia beat the daylights out of the US in war in the past I doubt that the 5th fleet has half the balls to say anything about the superior speedboats the somali navy possesses.

[neonink]

Never pay ransom, or you will set up a business.

Hire Halliburton to ride along on ships. Another business opportunity. Surely the Saudi''s can afford it. We Americans have had to pay Halliburton to protect Iraq.

[zwaggsy]

This ship was over 400 nautical miles off the coast & given it''s immense size (making it extremely hard to capture) it beggars belief that a bunch of Somali pirates just happened to stumble across it & successfully board it while still mobile.

I agree with some off the earlier posts, it sounds too staged. Wouldn''t be surprised if this was a Saudi plot to drive up the price of oil after all providing security for these vessels wont come cheap!

[freckster]

How the he11 can these guys even get on board such a huge ship? Just blow the pirates out of the water on their way out to sea. No one will know what came of them. When the pirates don''t show up at their target and don''t come back, there will be fewer who follow.

[stevex47]

Obviously an inside job.

[au_fait]

This is a situation where companies similar to Black Water should be hired. Each time you pay a ransom, you set a precedent for another hostage situation. Instead use the funds for the ransom for oversight by a protection agency or a special ops team to go in and rescue the ship. Yes some people will get hurt at this time, but hopefully with no ransoms being paid the piracy will end. if not maybe they will run out of pirates as each band of thieves are killed.

[ascension64]

Sounds like a setup to me. After being in the US Navy for 20 years, I know there are many ways to keep pirates off your vessel:
1. Pick a different route.
2. Arm your crew with side arms. (Borders cant shoot while climbing up the side of your ship)
3. Install lock havens for the bridge and engine rooms(the pirates would just be passengers then)
There are more but I dont wanna make this long.

[pierson98]

Some of the comments here are both insightful and genuinely funny. Good stuff, guys!

[kuei12]

"Never pay ransom, or you will set up a business"

What do you mean? Paying ransom is the only thing the entire us economy is based on.

[grvmstrj]

Something''s fishy here.

[jaxshante]

What I can''t understand is how can a bunch of goons in a raft or a john boat hi-jack a ship the size of a football field or larger? That''s like a car jacker on a bike trying to jack an 18 wheeler.

[benobana]

These men look white to me that is in this photo

[flipper137]

I asked this question yesterday but didn''t get an answer from anyone so I''ll ask again. How on earth can a bunch of rag tag guys in open 18%u2019 boats, with outboard engines, pull over a ship that is bigger than an aircraft carrier and highjack it? Anybody know?

[kuei12]

"How on earth can a bunch of rag tag guys in open 18%u2019 boats, with outboard engines, pull over a ship that is bigger than an aircraft carrier and highjack it? Anybody know? "

step 1. Get your lazy @ss of the couch
step 2 get your buddies to do the same
step 3 rent a boat
step 4 buy weapons and ammo
step 5 cruise out and find a huge boat. very easy because they are so big
step 6 climb aboard pirate style
step 7 point guns at crew
step 8 demand ransom
step 9 use ransom to buy drugs hookers more boats and more weapons
step 10 repeat steps 4 thru 10 until someone catches on

[au_fait]

The conservative administration has so weakened the
US Military that they can not even handle some clowns
in a speedboat.

Posted by pythoncharly
2 things

1. It is not our ship, so why get involved. If we do some whiney liberal will *** about it.
2. The incident with the USS Cole happened during a democratic presidency. So don''t say it was a repulicon''s fault. Teh republican party wanted to make the country stronger. The US citizens have become such pansies that they cannot stomach what it would take to make sure things of this nature will not occur.

[legacyabq]

Something is not right..

This just doesn''t add up

[luvcomments]

Instead of the Russian and US warships in the area, why not patrol with submarines armed with torpedoes and blow the thieving rag-tags outta the water before they board the targeted vessels? Do that a few times and I bet it will be a huge deterrent. Like old times when people had commonsense and the guts to protect what doesn''t belong to a thief.

[TommyCraig]

well after somalia beat the daylights out of the US in war in the past I doubt that the 5th fleet has half the balls to say anything about the superior speedboats the somali navy possesses.
Posted by andrew_693 at 10:05 AM : Nov 18, 2008

Another uninformed idiot.

[glidescube]

2 things

1. It is not our ship, so why get involved. If we do some whiney liberal will *** about it.
2. The incident with the USS Cole happened during a democratic presidency. So don''''t say it was a repulicon''''s fault. Teh republican party wanted to make the country stronger. The US citizens have become such pansies that they cannot stomach what it would take to make sure things of this nature will not occur.


Posted by au_fait at 01:41 PM : Nov 18, 2008


1 Iraq is not our people either but we went in
anyways.

2 The 9/11 attacks were under the Reps watch so I guess tham makes you the bigger loser.

[pensacola98]

Where will pirates take such a large vessel? Not many ports will even be an option for docking. This ship is more of a jail than a ship, because the pirates can''t go far or undetected.

More than likely, the pirates are hoping for a partner to assist in their escape on open waters. Any one approaching the ship will be easily identifies.

I think the world is about to see an amusing episode of "Worlds Most Stupid Criminals" unfolding in this event....just like a pick-pocket on an airplane in flight who tried to make a run for it.

[bobnjersey]

[Teh republican party wanted to make the country stronger. The US citizens have become such pansies that they cannot stomach what it would take to make sure things of this nature will not occur. ]
[Posted by au_fait at 01:41 PM : Nov 18, 2008]

just an fyi ... invading soveign nations ... p!ssing off everyone around the world ... spending a trillion dollars ... and killing innocent civilians in the process does not make us stronger ... it just makes us look stupid.

[susanhelit]

Big ships are slower, not faster than small ships - especially cargo vessels like that one. So they''re easy enough to catch.

And they don''t have guns on board - even if it was that easy to shoot another boat racing towards you, bobbing up and down in the water, as your ship does the same. They don''t have guns or weapons because it''s illegal, because of fears (well founded ones - this type of ruse has been used before) of supposed cargo vessels being used to stage an attack on one of the countries that lets them travel through their waters.

Somalia doesn''t have anything to do with this - other than being a poor country. What can they do about a group of 20-30 guys deciding to take a boat and some guns out and do piracy? How are they supposed to know who it is? If it was so easy to stop, we''d have managed to stop our own street gangs, drug runners, etc. It''s not that easy.

The Saudis - how do you figure out who did it? Somalia didn''t - individuals living there did. So attacking the country is out. The pirates are on the ship, so going after them at home is pointless. And no civilized country should hold wives and children as hostages, so that''s out too. So even if they can figure out exactly who is doing it - that doesn''t help this ship a bit. And there are a few thousand more Somalis - sitting there watching their children starve to death as other countries have plenty - who will take the pirates place, so long as there is any chance of money in this crime.

[johncarl54]

how does this happen? we have sattellites that can read a license plate from space. we have radar. how can a pirate approach a large ship with no one knowing about it. put a fire team on each ship. sink the pirate ships. this inaction is insane.

[au_fait]

a few points. I never said invade a country makes one stronger. You can build you might/resources and work with others to make yourself stronger. As for 9/11 on the republican watch, you are right it did. Much of it was set in gear though in years past. Some by republicans leadership and some by democaratic leadership. We as a country, have become weak. When attacked, we should attack with a vengence as we did during WWII. We should have never let the first WTC bombings and USS Cole incident go unanswered. We should not be in some of the areas we are as we are not the world''s policeman.

[uglyresult]

Pensacola98 wrote:

[Where will pirates take such a large vessel? Not many ports will even be an option for docking. This ship is more of a jail than a ship, because the pirates can''''t go far or undetected.

More than likely, the pirates are hoping for a partner to assist in their escape on open waters. Any one approaching the ship will be easily identifies. ]

It makes sense (from their perspective) to hold hostage 100M worth of oil destined for the USA, to gain 10M in ransom. Otherwise they blow it up, causing 100M direct loss, untold millions ecological loss and the publicity that goes with it.

Maybe a few AC-130 gunships protecting key tanker transports with a ring of fire would do the trick, but whatever, I think better preparedness and prevention is key here.

[susanhelit]

In the past, the pirates have been paid ransoms - hefty ransoms - to leave the ship. That''s what they''re looking for. With the poverty of Somalia, the lawlessness - it doesn''t take much money for this to be incredibly worthwhile to them. One ship, a cut of even a small ransom, and a Somali pirate can be set for life - a wealthy life - in Somalia.

[scallywag8]

I say send a decoy ship out in their waters full of explosives and a bunch of dummies on it and when they surround the ship blow it up.

[jsf14]

I wonder whether our navy is developing any plans to deal with pirates who take crew and ship hostage and are probably willing to die. It''ll take a govenment policy decision to do what will also kill the civilian crew. Are there any demands we won;t meet if enough hostages are threatened?

[tmittelstaed]

It''s cheaper to pay the million dollar ransoms than to take the steps to beef up security.
You could probably stop all piracy if you put a lot more armed guards on these ships, who could simply use machine guns to kill the pirates as they attempted to board. But you would need a LOT of guards because if the pirates are fired on, and they managed to gain control of the ship, they are certainly going to kill all the guards in retribution.
These shipping companies see only a handful of ships every year that get boarded, out of the thousands that they run. Beefing up guards on ALL ships would cost more than the ransom money. And if you have any crew or guard deaths, your going to have lawsuits and claims for money by the families which could quickly add up to the ransom. And if you do get into a firefight and your ship is sunk, not only do you have all the crew and their families demanding money, you have everyone who shipped anything on that boat demanding money too.
The only solution to this problem is for the Somalies to do the same thing that any civilized country does - use it''s internal equivalent to the FBI to infiltrate these pirate gangs, and pay off informants, and arrest them on land before they pirate anything. But, Somali is a mess internally and just can''t do that.

[inketolstoy]

What do you say guys? Let''s go to the garage, grab some garden tools and a speedboat, and go pirating. Tanks; oil, it is all just floating out there for the taking. When I''m a pirate captain I''ll have a monkee in a captain costume instead of a parrot. Yeehaaw! I mean Argggg!

[bobnjersey]

[Why not negotiate endlessly with the pirates, then send Jimmy Carter to the ship with suitcases full of money to gain release of the cargo? Each pirate could then be made chancellor of a major American university and end up teaching our children about multi-cultural values.]
[Posted by DeckardBR at 04:01 PM : Nov 18, 2008]

or we could take the other approach ... let''s call it the ''booty doctrine'' ... where we sink ''any'' ship moving anywhere near areas where ship hijacking is known to be common ... pre-emptively preventing the pirating ... by removing all pirate ships and the ships they would pirate. anything that doesn''t turn out as we plan we''ll blame on the intelligence.

[notblue]

bobnjersey, what an excellent plan! I''m with you, it''s far better than caving to the evil followed by just blaming ourselves.

[magoo2u1]

I think the pirates must get from the ship to the shore. Seems an ideal time to drop an anvil or piano on them. A few 3 inch shells would do nice too I think.

It is time to set up a private International Security Force (ISF) with international volunteers under the control of the UN. The UN should adopt a resolution that the ISF will be authorized to act to defend property that is stationary or in transit. ISF should have its own forces but may also contract to get forces and equipment from other countries and companies. ISF should be initially funded by interested counties and corporations. Subsequently, ISF should charge for protection depending on the value of protected assets and the threat perception. Such a force is likely to eliminate the need for direct intervention by US and NATO military forces. For example, UN and ISF may negotiate with the government of Somalia and remove the bases of the pirates in the present situation. The mission of ISF should not be peace keeping but only asset protection from terrorists and pirates.