MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jan. 10, 2009
5 Somalis Drown With Pirate Booty
Escape Craft Capsizes In Storm After Ransom Paid; Freed Saudi Tanker En Route Home, Crew Safe
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A parachute dropped by a small aircraft drops over the MV Sirius Star at anchor, an apparent payment via a parachuted container to pirates holding the ship, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009. Somali pirates released the oil-laden Saudi supertanker after receiving a $3 million ransom, a negotiator for the bandits said Friday. (AP/AC2C Hudson, USN)
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Fast Facts Somalia Learn about the people, economy and history.
Pirate Daud Nure says the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday.
He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure was not part of the pirate operation but knew those involved.
Jamal Abdulle, a resident of the Somali coastal town of Haradhere, close to where the ship had been anchored also confirmed that the boat sank and that the eight's portion of the ransom money that had been shared between dozens of pirates was lost.
Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali Naimi said Saturday that the crew of the Sirius Star was safe and that the tanker was on its way home. He said the vessel had left Somalia's territorial waters and was headed to the Saudi port of Dammam.
U.S. Navy photos released Friday showed a parachute, carrying what was described as "an apparent payment," floating toward the tanker. The Sirius Star and its 25-member crew had been held since Nov. 15. Its cargo of crude oil was valued at $100 million at the time.
The capture was seen as a dramatic demonstration of the pirates' ability to strike high-value targets hundreds of miles offshore.
On the same day the Saudi ship was freed, pirates released a captured Iranian-chartered cargo ship, Iran's state television reported Saturday. It said the ship Daylight was carrying 36 tons of wheat when it was attacked in the Gulf of Aden Nov. 18 and seized by pirates. All 25 crew are in good health and the vessel is sailing toward Iran, the TV report said.
The pirate-infested Gulf of Aden is one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
The U.S. Navy announced this week it will head a new anti-piracy task force after more than 100 ships were attacked last year. NATO and the European Union already have warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and have intervened to prevent several ships from being captured.
More than a dozen ships with about 300 crew members are still being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia, including the weapons-laden Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was seized in September.
The multimillion dollar ransoms are one of the few ways to earn a living in the impoverished, war-ravaged country. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and nearly half of its population depends on aid.
By Associated Press Writer Mohamed Olad Hassan
© MMIX The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- Too bad they lost the money
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- all of these badazz countries that have huge navys and a few ragtag pirates make off with huge shiploads of goods? you don''t seriously buy that BS do you? Do you? You must be ditzier than sarah palin if you do.
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- Somalia is a country without a government. I hope Americans will look at Somalia and say " There but for my government goes America." Can you call a cop, ambulance or fireman if you have a problem? Thank the government. Do you have roads, public schools, running water? Many Americans want to abolish the government. They should look at Somalia and decide if they really want to raise their kids in a place like that.
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- ....AAARRRRrrrr..."Shiver me gas pump"!!!...AAARRRrrrr
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- Isn''t a big booty supposed to float?
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- Not buying it. Where''s the proof? A Somalia pirate said so is a little week. Has CBS verified this with independent sources that are not Somalia? It''s just too good to be true. It%u2019s more likely a ploy to get away without chance of being tracked down.
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- I think "editorCBS" just got banned, His post disappeared.
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- this story totally made my day! and Muslims don''t believe in Karma? How''s that going, ay? And all for bits of paper that we all have to agree to agree that it means something. Heh.
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- Aaaaaaaaarg, weigh anchor and hoist the sails, me hearties......we''re off ta'' find the Lost Treasure,....and an equal share for all, says I....Aaaaaaaaarg.....
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Did you hear? God lost $5.3 Billion in the Madoff scandal and killed himself.
Posted by smurfcrusher at 05:13 PM : Jan 10, 2009
LMAO
Posted by mnelsonix at 07:56 PM : Jan 10, 2009
If GOD wanted somebody dead, it wouldn''t be himself.- Reply to this comment
Did you hear? God lost $5.3 Billion in the Madoff scandal and killed himself.
Posted by smurfcrusher at 05:13 PM : Jan 10, 2009
LMAO- Reply to this comment
- Can we figure out a way to drown a few of the pirates that looted wall street??
Posted by hadenough43
dido
Posted by rightbehind
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It''s "Ditto" lol - Reply to this comment
- "Pirates drowned, millions in ransom gone. Tell me again God doesn''''''''t see all.
Posted by mainemade at 01:12 PM : Jan 10, 200
Well, he missed the other three...
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Posted by sandy19731 at 01:43 PM : Jan 10, 2009
For now."
Posted by mainemade
Did you hear? God lost $5.3 Billion in the Madoff scandal and killed himself. - Reply to this comment
- We need to start selling the Phalanx close-in weapon system to these shipping companies. Look on youtube to see one of these things in action.
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- first i would like to say that its nice to here the world is free of five more muslim terrorists.
what i can''t understand is why the rest of the world has to mobilize to protect saudi oil tankers. the saudis have there own military and are probably one of the richest countries in the world. yet they just pay ransom to this scum and charge us for it. there just blackmailing the rest of us to protect them. let them mount 50 calibers on there tankers and a few rocket launchers. that would stop those craphead somalians in there tracks. the same with all those other ships passing through there. GROW SOME BALLS AND DEFEND YOURSELVES! SINK THAT MUSLIM TRASH OUT IN THE DEEP. IT''S THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT. THEY WON''T QUIT UNTIL YOU KILL ENOUGH OF THEM TO MAKE THEM REALIZE THEY WILL DIE IF THEY TRY!!!!! - Reply to this comment
- Sounds like something from the Greek mythology !!!
- Reply to this comment
- Can we figure out a way to drown a few of the pirates that looted wall street??
- Reply to this comment
- Pirates drowned, millions in ransom gone. Tell me again God doesn''''t see all.
Posted by mainemade at 01:12 PM : Jan 10, 200
Well, he missed the other three...
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Posted by sandy19731 at 01:43 PM : Jan 10, 2009
For now. - Reply to this comment
- Think about the value the cargo lost since it was taken. It would have paid for security several fold. The oil prices dropped by about two thirds.
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- How''s a pirate supposed to poop without a booty?
Heheh. - Reply to this comment
