Monday, November 17, 2008

Saudi Oil Tanker Hijacked

Wow.

A giant Saudi oil tanker seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean is nearing the coast of Somalia, the US Navy says.

The Sirius Star is the biggest tanker ever to be hijacked, with a cargo of 2m barrels - a quarter of Saudi Arabia’s daily output - worth more than $200m.

The vessel was captured in what the navy called an “unprecedented” attack 450 nautical miles (830km) off the Kenyan coast on Sunday.

Its international crew of 25, including two Britons, is said to be safe.

The hijacking was highly unusual both in terms of the size of the ship and the fact it was attacked so far from the African coast, says BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.

The seizure points to the inability of a multi-national naval task force sent to the region earlier this year to stop Somali piracy, he says.

Posted by Owen at 2326 hrs
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  1. How do you fence a supertanker full of oil?

    Posted by on November 18, 2008 at 1014 hrs


  2. You don’t.  You hold it for ransom and threaten to create an environmental disaster if anyone tries to take it back by force.

    Posted by Owen on November 18, 2008 at 1019 hrs


  3. Anybody else remember this from a few months ago?

    Apparently, after negotiations, the ship carried on and everything is A-OK.

    Google has links to additional articles.

    Posted by on November 18, 2008 at 1115 hrs


  4. At least two other ships have now been hijacked, a Hong Kong based cargo ship and an Iranian cargo ship,

    Posted by on November 18, 2008 at 1437 hrs


  5. and an Iranian cargo ship,

    Iran has cargo ships?

    Posted by on November 18, 2008 at 1558 hrs


  6. Apparently they do.

    Posted by on November 18, 2008 at 1604 hrs


  7. Probably, Iran does not have cargo ships---just American ships registered in Iran to keep from paying fees, taxes, etc.

    Posted by on November 18, 2008 at 1622 hrs


  8. My prayers for the 25 crew members.  Once they’re safe there’s nothing you can do with the tanker except burn to death on it.

    Posted by on November 18, 2008 at 2007 hrs


  9. The fashion world is all atwitter over the return of the eye patch this holiday season.

    Posted by on November 19, 2008 at 1038 hrs


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