How smart are Somali Pirates???

[smileyman]

Well not smart enough to steal an oil tanker when the price was $140 per barrel. Now that it is $55 a barrrel they go an pull this...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa...tes/index.html

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- A hijacked supertanker carrying up to $100 million worth of crude oil -- the largest vessel seized to date in an escalating regional piracy crisis -- was believed to have anchored off Somalia Tuesday, its operator said.


An undated photo of the Sirius Star in South Korean waters.

The Sirius Star's crew of 25, including British, Croatian, Polish, Filipino and Saudi nationals, are reported to be safe, according to Dubai-based Vela International Marine.

"Our first and foremost priority is ensuring the safety of the crew," said Vela President Salah Kaaki. "We are in communication with their families and are working toward their safe and speedy return."

The Saudi-owned vessel was seized on Saturday more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya in what Saudi Arabia's foreign minister called "an outrageous act."

The U.S. Navy said the tanker was now anchored off Haradhere, a village reported to be a piracy hub, 300 kilometres (180 miles) north of Mogadishu.

The incident is the latest in a series of major acts of piracy around the Gulf of Aden that have cost the international shipping industry millions of dollars and threatened a key global trade route.

The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said it was not expecting to send ships to intercept the tanker. NATO also said it would not divert any of three ships currently in the Gulf of Aden, The Associated Press reported. Watch how attack may point to expansion in piracy in region »

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, speaking during a visit to Athens, condemned the hijacking, saying: "piracy, like terrorism, is a disease which is against everybody, and everybody must address it together," according to AP.

U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet Cmdr. Jane Campbell said the tanker -- flagged in Liberia and owned by the Saudi Aramco company -- weighed more than 300,000 metric tons and was more than three times the size of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.

A multinational naval force including vessels from the U.S., the UK and Russia has been patrolling the Indian Ocean waters seas near the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, following a sharp increase in pirate attacks in the region.

The burgeoning piracy crisis has flourished in lawless Somalia where almost two decades without a central government has left a country wracked by conflict, chaos and poverty.

"It was attacked more than 450 nautical offshore of Mombasa. This means that the pirates are now operating in an area of over 1.1 million square miles. This is a measure of the determination of the pirates and ... a measure of how lucrative piracy could become," Campbell said.

Campbell said the Navy does not expect to dispatch a vessel to aide the super tanker because it does not have dangerous weapons aboard like the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that was seized by pirates on September 25.

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Oil industry insiders say a tanker of the Sirius Star's size can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil, and the ship's operator says it is fully laden.

South Korean officials said on Sunday that armed gunmen hijacked a Japanese freighter and its 23-member crew off the coast of Somalia. The hijacking came as the Korean government was considering sending a warship to join those of other countries to combat piracy in the area.

A Russian patrol ship also thwarted an attack on a Saudi vessel.

Eleven vessels are currently being held by pirates hoping to secure ransoms for their release, according to AP. They include the MV Faina, which was hijacked along with 20 crew and a cargo of weapons and T-72 tanks.

Ninety percent of ships in the area are using a guarded corridor and there had been no hijackings inside the zone since it was set up on August 22, Danish Commodore Per Bigum Christensen told AP last week.

Around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year.


Meanwhile, a Norwegian shipping firm has ordered its vessels to avoid the waters off the Horn of Africa and criticized governments for failing to curb the wave of piracy.

The decision by the maritime company Odfjell SE means its 90-plus ships will take the additional time and expense to sail around the southern tip of Africa instead of going through the Suez Canal, a shortcut for mariners for nearly a century and a half.
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CNN's David McKenzie contributed to this report

[Amorok]

These guys have probably one or two more chances, and then they're going to try a boat that the owners hired Blackwater to protect. No more Somali pirates. Wouldn't m8ind having a go at these guys myself if I had a decent crew with me, maybe four guys is all I need. MMFJ2M, Mikey, Jump, and fatbuck, you guys busy?

[cesj]

I have heard several stories of small african guerilla groups kidnapping and stealing oil equipment getting wiped out by military. Majority of the time the people don't even know what they have stolen or who they kidnapped. The craziest part I was told was that a lot of times all they want are jobs. It was just really weird to hear that once the hostages are returned or value determined for the goods they go in and just wipe out the people.

[Sig]

so now what do they do with the oil?

[ericr]

Originally Posted by Amorok

These guys have probably one or two more chances, and then they're going to try a boat that the owners hired Blackwater to protect. No more Somali pirates. Wouldn't m8ind having a go at these guys myself if I had a decent crew with me, maybe four guys is all I need. MMFJ2M, Mikey, Jump, and fatbuck, you guys busy?

I'll sail with ya Amorok. Just need a few LAWS and some light arms. A couple of .50 cals would be nice too.

You got to admit, they're not totally stupid, they've been getting away with it and getting paid for years now. The stupid people are the owners that aren't arming their crews or hiring security to go for a ride. I'd enjoy "trolling" for pirates through there with an armed crew.

[azoomm]

They used to hit large vessels all the time - as the crew had their pay on board in cash. Now, the crew is paid through direct deposit and salaried. There isn't much they can do with the oil but sell it back to a corrupt government... not that those aren't hard to find in that area.

Here's me, REALLY glad my husband isn't working over there. The money is incredible if you don't mind the possibility of not coming back. That doesn't mean being dead... it's just they disappear.

[askmrjesus]

Originally Posted by ericr

I'll sail with ya Amorok. Just need a few LAWS and some light arms. A couple of .50 cals would be nice too.

You got to admit, they're not totally stupid, they've been getting away with it and getting paid for years now. The stupid people are the owners that aren't arming their crews or hiring security to go for a ride. I'd enjoy "trolling" for pirates through there with an armed crew.

It's not really a question of stupid owners failing to arm their crews, I'm sure many of them would love to. The problem is, armed crews would be in violation of international maritime laws.

There are armed escort services available in some territorial waters, but in international waters, there are no guns allowed on non-naval vessels.

JC

[ericr]

Originally Posted by askmrjesus

It's not really a question of stupid owners failing to arm their crews, I'm sure many of them would love to. The problem is, armed crews would be in violation of international maritime laws.

There are armed escort services available in some territorial waters, but in international waters, there are no guns allowed on non-naval vessels.

JC

You know, I'd completely forgotten about that law. Another law designed to keep those pirates from being armed on the open ocean, yeah, it works.

[Dragonpaco]

Originally Posted by Amorok

These guys have probably one or two more chances, and then they're going to try a boat that the owners hired Blackwater to protect. No more Somali pirates. Wouldn't m8ind having a go at these guys myself if I had a decent crew with me, maybe four guys is all I need. MMFJ2M, Mikey, Jump, and fatbuck, you guys busy?

where is my invite to this little shindig?

[Curb]

Originally Posted by Sig

so now what do they do with the oil?

they usually hold it for ransom

Originally Posted by ericr

You know, I'd completely forgotten about that law. Another law designed to keep those pirates from being armed on the open ocean, yeah, it works.

another great law that is keeping the guns out of the hands that really need them