Walk The Plank: Resisting Piracy Has Risks

After More Than 80 Attacks This Year, The World's Most Powerful Navies Say They Can't Police The Seas

(CBS/AP) 
Pirates have seized dozens of ships off Somalia's coast in the last year, generally releasing them after ransoms were paid. NATO has three warships in the Gulf of Aden and the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet has ships in the region. But the MV Sirius Star was seized far from where they patrol.

While Somali pirates have seized 36 ships over the past year, among them a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that is still being held, never had they seized a vessel as large as the Sirius Star and so far out to sea. The tanker was more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya, an area far south of the zone where warships have increased their patrols.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal called the hijacking "an outrageous act" and said "piracy, like terrorism, is a disease which is against everybody, and everybody must address it together."

The kingdom, which is the world's leading oil producer, said it will join the international fight against piracy, and Somali officials vowed to try to rescue the supertanker, by force if necessary.

The Sirius Star was anchored Tuesday close to Harardhere, the main pirates' den on the Somali coast, with a full load of 2 million barrels of oil and 25 crew members.

"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 in Harardhere.

"I have been fishing here for three decades, but I have never seen a ship as big as this one," 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."

He said two small boats floated out to the ship and 18 men - presumably other pirates - climbed aboard with a rope ladder. Spectators watched as a small boat carried food and qat, a narcotic leaf popular in Somalia, to the supertanker.

Salah B. Ka'aki, president and CEO of the tanker's owner Vela International Marine Ltd, said the oil tanker's 25 crew members "are believed to be safe." The statement said they were awaiting further contact from pirates controlling the vessel.

With naval forces unwilling to intervene, shipowners in past piracy cases have ended up paying ransoms for their ships, cargos and crew.

The latest ship seized was a bulk cargo carrier flying a Hong Kong flag and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. U.S. Navy Commander Jane Campbell of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said the status of the crew and cargo was not known.

The International Maritime Bureau on Sunday reported five hijackings since Nov. 7, before the hijackings of the Saudi and Iranian ships were announced.

Saud, speaking during a visit to Athens on Tuesday, said Saudi Arabia would join an international initiative against piracy in the Red Sea area, where more than 80 pirate attacks have taken place this year.

He did not elaborate on what steps the kingdom would take to better protect its vital oil tankers. Saudi Arabia's French-equipped navy has 18,000-20,000 personnel, but has never taken part in any high-seas fighting.

Abdullkadir Musa, the deputy sea port minister in northern Somalia's breakaway Puntland region, said if the ship tries to anchor anywhere near Eyl - where the U.S. earlier said it was heading - then his forces will try to rescue it.

Forces from Puntland region in northern Somalia have sometimes confronted pirates, though Somalia's weak central government, which is fighting Islamic insurgents, has been unable to mount a response to increasing piracy.

Puntland forces, their guns blazing, freed a Panama-flagged cargo ship from pirates on Oct. 14.

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

The U.S. Navy is still surrounding a Ukrainian ship loaded with tanks and other weaponry that was seized by pirates Sept. 25 off the Somali coast.

[kk217]

gscotth...you obviously missed my point of being no lover of islam. I''m sure you''d agree that lumping all into a stereotypical group isn''t the way to go. And yes I could have mentioned priests and boys but I didn''t...you did

[kk217]

I have also read in some threads that we should "nuke" Somalia. Well I would agree if we knew that all of Somalia was occupied by terrorists. Now anyone with a lick of sense knows that is not the case. I do believe the UN and I mean a REAL UN should go in (without the baby blue helmets) and sweep that country of all combatants. Somalia hasn''t had a government for over 15 years so the UN shouldn''t be scared off by any government backlash. Let the UN be the top cops for a change and grow some teeth as well as a set

[kk217]

"Eliminating" islam, totally, would go a Long way towards solving most ''''terrorist'''' activities on the planet.

reality101a

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If you know your history you''ll know that Catholics once committed heinous murders in the name of God. The inquisitions are a fact I''m sure catholicism would just as soon not be reminded of. Blaming all muslims for radical ideology of MANY other muslims
is unfair. I am no lover of islam and want all terrorists dead but blaming all for some is unfair and we as a country are above that.

[tincup356]

the world is too busy watching the rest of the money disappear right now.The new world order is evolving right now.they have all Americans fighting amongst each other over who did what and who should do what.Meanwhile,the worlds money is running out holes everywhere,and flowing straight back to the power brokers.The end of the middle class as we knew it is here.And the people of this world owe it to our own governments for selling everyone out.

[mom_o_truth]

actually the pirates off somolia have been identified as islamic terrorists.


Posted by jgg0002 at 10:10 PM : Nov 18, 2008
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please provide quotes, date and source of your claim.

[scallywag8]

Take an old ship that has been decommissioned, fill it with explosives, place mannequins around the rails etc... When the Pirates board, blow the thing up. A couple of these would make them a little scared to approach another ship.

[easeup-2009]

ARRRGH!!! AVAST YE MATEY!!!

Resist & find Davey Jones'' locker!!!

ARRRRGH!!!!

[manstantrust]

The key as one of you said is the Somali government. Unless they agree that foreign troops enter the country to help the rout the terrorists and pirates, any attack to those pirates will be considered an invasion of national Somali soil.

If they (Saudi Arabia,Iran and Russia) can establish that it is an act of war (arms, tanks and oil), there is no justification for bombarding and defeating their headquarters without Somali governments approval.

In fact, anti-terrorist forces should look at the money flow and will probably discover that it is going to the terrorists inland. Again, can Saudi Arabia and Iran exercise pressure on Somali banks to trace and track?

[my2centss]

"Shipping companies have to understand that naval forces can not be everywhere. Self-protection measures are the best way to protect their vessels," U.S. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney,

That is great advice not only for shipping companies, but also for personal protection.

[rtn2-2009]

Why don''t the navies of the world bomb these pirates into submission since their government does not seem to want them to stop. As long as Somalia is getting some of the proceeds they will not correct this travesty. While they are allowed to continue to pirate these ship consumer prices will start to show the effect of the piracy.

[reality101a]

"Eliminating" islam, totally, would go a Long way towards solving most ''terrorist'' activities on the planet.