JoeyB Posted 17 November 2008 Posted 17 November 2008 Pirates capture Saudi oil tanker The Sirius Star oil tanker (undated image) The Sirius Star made its maiden voyage in March of this year Pirates have seized a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast and are steering it towards Somalia, the US Navy reports. The US-bound tanker was captured on Saturday some 450 nautical miles (830km) south-east of Mombasa, and is now approaching the Somali port of Eyl. The Sirius Star is carrying its full load of 2m barrels - more than one-quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output. Its international crew of 25, including two Britons, is said to be safe. Lt Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet, said the attack was "unprecedented". Life in Somalia's pirate town From cutlass to AK-47 According to the Navy, the ship is "nearing an anchorage point" at Eyl, a port often used by pirates based in Somalia's Puntland region. War-torn Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991. A BBC correspondent in Mombasa reports that this is the third tanker to have been hijacked in the region. News of the attack raised crude oil prices on global markets following an earlier slump, Reuters news agency reported. The capture of the tanker appears to mark a worrying new development, both in terms of the size of the ship and the fact it was attacked so far from the African coast. Attacks on shipping off the Horn of Africa and Kenya by mainly Somali pirates seeking ransoms prompted foreign navies to send warships to the area this year. A number of vessels and their crews have been held captive for months, including the Ukrainian freighter MV Faina, seized in September. 'Crew safe' The supertanker was heading for the US via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, Reuters reports. THE SIRIUS STAR The Sirius Star oil tanker (image from Aramco website) Nearly the length of a US aircraft carrier Weighs more than three times as much as a carrier when loaded Can carry 2 million barrels of oil - more than 25% of Saudi Arabia's daily output Is third tanker, and biggest vessel, to be hijacked in the region Life in Somalia's pirate town The route around the Cape of Good Hope is a main thoroughfare for fully-laden supertankers from the Gulf, the world's biggest oil-exporting region. With a capacity of 318,000 dead weight tonnes, the ship is 330m (1,080ft) long and is classed as a Very Large Crude Carrier. It is about as long as a US aircraft carrier and, when loaded, weighs more than three times as much. "It's the largest ship that we've seen pirated," said Lt Christensen. The South Korean-built Sirius Star, owned by the Saudi company Aramco, made its maiden voyage in March 2008. The ship's operator, Vela International, said that all of the crew were reported to be safe. "Vela response teams have been mobilised and are working to ensure the safe release of crew members and the vessel," it added. Confirming that two Britons were aboard the tanker, the UK Foreign Office said it could not give any details of their role on the ship. "We are seeking more information on the incident," a spokesman said. The other crew are said to be from Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia. Captive vessels Figures from the International Maritime Bureau show that attacks in the area - the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off the African coast - have made up one-third of all piracy incidents worldwide in 2008. Map showing areas of pirate attacks In the first nine months of the year 63 incidents were reported. As of 30 September, 12 vessels remained captive and under negotiation with more than 250 crew being held hostage. Pirates remain active and regularly strike in the region. In the past week alone: • A Russian warship in the Gulf of Aden drove off pirates who tried to capture the Saudi Arabian merchant ship Rabih • Pirates hijacked a Japanese cargo ship off Somalia • A Chinese fishing boat was seized off the Kenyan coast • A Turkish ship transporting chemicals to India was hijacked off Yemen • The UK's Royal Navy shot dead two suspected pirates attacking a Danish cargo-ship off the coast of Yemen Ahoy - Link
Floating Fox Posted 17 November 2008 Posted 17 November 2008 I laugh everytime I see a pirate news story. The fact they still remain is beyond belief. What the fook are our Navy's playing at? They don't even fight any wars, you'd think they could spare a ship or three to patrol the area!
Guest Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 Piracy was one of the last criminal acts for which the death penalty was repealed in 1998 (along with high treason).
Thracian Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 Piracy was one of the last criminal acts for which the death penalty was repealed in 1998 (along with high treason). That seems to have done a lot of good then!
surrifox Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 I laugh everytime I see a pirate news story. The fact they still remain is beyond belief. What the fook are our Navy's playing at? They don't even fight any wars, you'd think they could spare a ship or three to patrol the area! Our navy consists of an aircraft carrier a couple of submarines and a few frigates - probably not enough to patrol the world's international waters. But surely it's worth ship operators with $100 million cargoes recruiting some ex-SAS or ghurkas armed with heavy machine guns / surface to surface missiles to deter these scallywags
James. Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 Piracy was one of the last criminal acts for which the death penalty was repealed in 1998 (along with high treason). What about arsen in a naval dockyard? Or is that counted as piracy? That was always the other one that got mentioned when talking about capital punishment.
Guest Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 What about arsen in a naval dockyard? Or is that counted as piracy? That was always the other one that got mentioned when talking about capital punishment. That went in 1971, apparently.
Ric Flair Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 I thought this was about Miley Cyrus, fair play to them.
Alexikokopops Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 Probably not ACTUALLY funny, by the way. Pipe down Welshy :pirate: :pirate:
Thracian Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 How ridiculous,Pirates? In this day & age. Piracy is a major problem on the seas.
Trav Le Bleu Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 What about arsen in a naval dockyard? Or is that counted as piracy? That was always the other one that got mentioned when talking about capital punishment. What about Arsene in an Emirates Stadium?
Fosse Boy Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 What about arsen in a naval dockyard? Or is that counted as piracy? That was always the other one that got mentioned when talking about capital punishment. That went in 1971, apparently. That's a relief. I was under the impression that it was still on the statutes. Right, well I'm off down to Portsmouth with a box of matches and a drum of petrol then. Anyone else wanna join me?
Floating Fox Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 Our navy consists of an aircraft carrier a couple of submarines and a few frigates - probably not enough to patrol the world's international waters. But surely it's worth ship operators with $100 million cargoes recruiting some ex-SAS or ghurkas armed with heavy machine guns / surface to surface missiles to deter these scallywags We still have a fair set of equimpent though, you'd think they would stick a few Destroyers/Battleships out there. I know the US have a couple. It's not like our navy is up to much else though really is it? Aircraft carriers are the only ones that see any combat, obvs with a few support ships, the rest seem to sit in Portsmouth docks or just be on training missions...such as one out in the South Pacific at the minute.
Koke Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 These pirates makes shed load of money out of this, and are living a lucrative lifestyle. The Puntland region are doing rather well considering the country has had no federal government since 1991. In fact, it is a miracle that the country still exists considering that Somalia gets no aid whatsoever from the outside world, but yet less than half the population are below the poverty line. Most people get 3 meals a day. Compare that to our next door neighboroughs countries like Ethiopia, and I think the Somali locals have done well for themselves (not the criminal warlords who's responsible for the dire state the country is in). A stable Somalia would easily surpass most African countries. I should quit my day time job and join my fellow countrymen and retire completely before I'm 30.
Thracian Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 We still have a fair set of equimpent though, you'd think they would stick a few Destroyers/Battleships out there. I know the US have a couple. It's not like our navy is up to much else though really is it? Aircraft carriers are the only ones that see any combat, obvs with a few support ships, the rest seem to sit in Portsmouth docks or just be on training missions...such as one out in the South Pacific at the minute. If only international politics was so easy! This will have been more than your everyday piracy.... What odds on Al Queda being involved as part of the constant attack on the Western economies? Or does that sound too much like a book plot?.
andyh1884 Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 How is Phube not all over this thread? You start out illegally downloading music/buying moody DVDs, next think you know you're aboard a super-tanker with automatic weapons. It's a slippery slope
Daggers Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 What? No, I reckon it was taken over by parrots. Seriously? Pirates you say? Aw bollocks!
lildave3 Posted 18 November 2008 Posted 18 November 2008 I laugh everytime I see a pirate news story. The fact they still remain is beyond belief. What the fook are our Navy's playing at? They don't even fight any wars, you'd think they could spare a ship or three to patrol the area! And you said pirates didn't exist
Floating Fox Posted 19 November 2008 Posted 19 November 2008 And you said pirates didn't exist I know. I'm joining the navy just because I said that. Nice to see the Indians being pro-active and sinking one of the bastards!
Trav Le Bleu Posted 19 November 2008 Posted 19 November 2008 Apparently they captured a 2nd tanker... which means they have twice the power they had before and can therefore capture two at a time... which will give them 4, and then they will be able to go out and capture... 8! With which they will no doubt bolster their efforts, capture 8 more, giving them a total of 16!! With 16 tankers they will probably think that they are on to a good thing, and they'd be right, cos it would be dead easy to then double the size of their flotilla to 32. And why stop there (just when they're getting started), when with a little time and effort they would surely turn their flotilla into a fleet of 64 tankers! One might think that at this point they might rest on their laurels, but as a rolling stone gathers no moss, a rampaging Somalian corsair knows no bounds to his (or indeed, her!) greed (or as they like to call it, bounty). Therefore it would only be a matter of time before they had, in total, an armada of 132 tankers. At this point they might come unstuck, as that's round about the tipping point, where they own more tankers than the rest of the world put together. Pirates on tankers would be swarming the seas, searching for the odd stray tanker that they had missed, but surely the large oil companies would go to ground - run and hide - darting out only in despairation to reach some safe harbour. Which is why the pirates will eventually be forced to start on cruise liners - then fishing trawlers - ecological survey ships - ferries and when all else is plundered, pedaloes! I have seen the future!
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