Editor's Note:
No country seems immune from the pirate attacks plaguing international shipping in the waters bordering the lawless coast of Somalia. Over 80 attacks against ships in the area have been reported this year with about 17 ships and 300 crewmen still being held hostage. The attacks have troubled maritime shippers for years but it was a story that remained mostly below the radar until September when pirates grabbed a Ukrainian cargo ship loaded with ammunition and 33 battle tanks. This week began with another high profile vessel being taken -- a Saudi Aramco oil tanker. The 318,000 ton, Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), MV Sirius Star, laden with a cargo of about 2 million barrels of crude oil -- about one quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily production -- bound for the United States and its crew of 19, was seized about 450 miles from the Somali coast.
The hijacking renewed calls in the international community for action against the pirates but as with most seizures in the waters around Somalia it appears that Sirius Star's owner, Vela International Marine, Ltd, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, is negotiating for the release of the ship and crew.
This SUSRIS IOI provides a perspective on this incident from Arab
News, the largest English language daily in the Kingdom, along with background reports and links to other resources.
Editorial: Pirates must be hit in their lairs
Arab News
 The seizure of an Aramco oil tanker, the Sirius Star, brings home to many people the extent of both the scourge and the dangers it poses for the Kingdom�s well-being if not confronted. This part of the world has always lived on trade, maritime trade in particular. Oil has not changed that. It has magnified it. These pirates, unless stopped, will continue their murderous, pillaging ways. This will not be the only tanker seized. There will be others. With cargoes around two million barrels, the pickings are just too tempting.
The seizure seven weeks ago of the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying a cargo of Russians tanks, galvanized some nations into a degree of action. There is now an increased NATO naval presence in the region as well as ships from India, Malaysia and Russia � and they have been cooperating. Recently the Russian and British navies prevented a Danish ship being captured. But this is not enough. The pirates are becoming daily bolder and more sophisticated in their operations � and have expanded into an ever wider area. There have been 92 attacks in the Arabian Sea and off the coast of East Africa this year, 36 of them successful. Fourteen vessels are currently held, including the MV Faina. The Sirius Star shows that, despite the naval presence, the problem is worsening. It is not only the biggest vessel to be seized but it was taken well outside what was thought to be the pirates� zone of activity. |
The root problem, as we all know, is the implosion of Somalia. While it remains a failed state, it provides a safe haven for the pirates. But the world cannot wait until law and order is re-established in Somalia, which is the de-facto international policy at the moment. It could be years before that happens. In the meantime, the attacks will continue and become ever more menacing. It is no exaggeration to say that the Kingdom�s very economy is at stake here � as well as that of other Gulf states.
 Some years ago, piracy on the high seas was only ended when the major maritime powers decided no longer to license pirates as freelance buccaneers against each other but rather to pursue them and destroy them in their lairs. The policy worked and it seems to be what is needed today. The policy of trying to contain the threat by increasing security on board ships is all very well, but it is ultimately futile � and expensive. It is not going to stop the pirates. They will find plenty of victims. The navy patrols cannot be everywhere. As for handing captured pirates to what limited authorities there are in Somalia�s breakaway region of Puntland � which is what the French Navy did with nine last month � it is insane. The pirates are closely linked to the warlords of Puntland who take their cut of the ransoms paid. Negotiating with them and paying the ransom is also madness. It positively encourages them to strike again. This is now a multimillion dollar business. Hitting the pirates in their lairs would mean naval action against Somali ports such as Eyl and the destruction of all potential pirate vessels there. That could only be done under UN authority. Seven weeks ago we suggested the creation of a UN naval force, a maritime equivalent of the UN peacekeeping forces in order to ensure safe shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Whether it is that or providing the authority to move against the pirates, the UN has to address the issue � and immediately. It is already past time to deal with the problem before things grow even worse.
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Source: Arab News
Pirates seize Aramco supertanker
Pirates
[Nov 17] attacked and took control of Saudi Aramco�s largest
crude carrier Sirius Star off the east coast of Africa.
The
vessel, which came under attack more than 450 nautical miles
southeast of Mombasa, Kenya, was heading toward the coast of
Somalia when last reports came in.
�According to the latest report we have, the ship is approaching
the Somali coast, heading toward Eyl port,� said a spokeswoman
for the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet. �Can we assume that the
pirates are Somalis? Yes.�
The spokeswoman said she had no confirmation of a report on
Al-Arabiya television that control of the supertanker had been regained from the pirates.
Another Fifth Fleet spokesman called the attack unprecedented. �It�s the largest ship that we�ve seen pirated,� said Lt. Nathan Christensen. �It�s three times the size of an aircraft carrier.�
There were no reports of damage to the ship, Christensen added. He declined to say if the US Navy was considering taking action to rescue the supertanker, which had a total of 25 crew members from Croatia, Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia. �We are evaluating the situation,� he said.
�Our presence in the region is helping deter and disrupt criminal attacks off the Somali coast, but the situation with the Sirius Star clearly indicates the pirates� ability to adapt their tactics and methods of attack,� said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney of the US Navy.
The Dubai-based Vela International, which is the shipping unit of Saudi Aramco, said the supertanker was fully laden at the time of its hijacking. The Sirius Star held as much as two million barrels of oil � more than one quarter of Saudi Arabia�s daily exports � worth over $100 million.
�Vela response teams have been mobilized and are working to ensure the safe release of crew members and the supertanker,� Vela International said in a statement. The Sirius Star had been heading for the United States, it added.
The International Maritime Bureau has reported that at least 83 ships have been attacked off Somalia since January, of which 33 were hijacked. Of those, 12 vessels and more than 200 crew are still in the hands of the pirates.
Pirates are well organized in the area where Somalia�s northeastern tip juts into the Indian Ocean, preying on a key maritime route leading to the Suez Canal through which an estimated 30 percent of the world�s oil transits. They operate high-powered speedboats and are heavily armed, sometimes holding ships for weeks until they are released for large ransoms paid by governments or owners.
NATO warships, along with ships and aircraft from several other nations, have been deployed in the region to protect commercial shipping.
However, Norwegian shipping company Odfjell said yesterday it would no longer sail through the pirate-plagued Gulf of Aden, choosing instead the longer, more expensive but also safer route around South Africa�s Cape of Good Hope.
Only last week, the European Union started a security operation off the coast of Somalia, north of Kenya, to combat growing acts of piracy and protect ships carrying aid agency deliveries. It is the EU�s first-ever naval mission.
Dubbed Operation Atlanta, the mission, endorsed by the bloc�s defense ministers at talks in Brussels, is being led by Britain, with its headquarters in Northwood, near London.
The hijacking had an immediate impact on the world oil markets. US crude traded up 39 cents to $57.43, after touching a low of $55.29 earlier.
Last Thursday, crude reached a low of $54.67, its weakest since January 2007. London Brent crude rose 27 cents to $54.51 a barrel.
Source: Arab News
Hijacked supertanker reaches Somalia
BOSASSO, Somalia: A Saudi supertanker seized by pirates with a $100 million oil cargo in the world�s biggest ship hijacking reached Somalia yesterday, and another ship was captured in the perilous waters off the lawless state.
The US Navy said pirates had transported the Sirius Star � seized 450 nautical miles southeast off Kenya at the weekend in the boldest strike to date by Somali pirates � to Haradheere port halfway up the Horn of Africa nation�s long coastline.
�At this time, Vela is awaiting further contact from the pirates in control of the vessel,� said Dubai-based owner Vela International, the shipping arm of state oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Vela said the 25 crew members were believed to be safe � they are from Croatia, Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia � and their safety was the top priority.
�The Saudi ship has anchored at a port near Haradheere, in Mudug central region,� Abdul Qadir Muse
Yusuf, Puntland�s assistant minister for fisheries told Reuters.
Increasingly brazen pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean waters off Somalia has driven up insurance costs, forced some ships to go round South Africa instead of through the Suez Canal, and secured millions of dollars in ransoms. The capture of the Sirius Star is one of the most spectacular strikes in maritime history.
�It is the act of some very bright Somalis. Anyone who describes them as a bunch of camel herders needs to think again,� one Somalia analyst said.
The seizure was carried out despite an international naval response, including from the NATO alliance and European Union, to protect one of the world�s busiest shipping routes. US, French and Russian warships are also off Somalia.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia would throw its weight behind a European-led initiative to step up security in shipping lanes off Africa�s east coast. �This is an outrageous act by the pirates. I think, it will only reinforce the resolve of the countries of the Red Sea and internationally to fight piracy,� he said during a visit to Athens. �Piracy is against everybody. Like terrorism it is a disease that has to be eradicated.�
But underlining the difficulty of containing the problem, China�s official Xinhua agency said yesterday a Hong Kong ship loaded with grain and bound for Iran was hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
The Delight, with 25 crew members on board, was captured off the Yemen coast at around 0600 GMT and is currently sailing toward Somalia, an official at Hong Kong�s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre told Reuters by telephone.
Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers� Association, said he thought a hijacked Nigerian tug was a �mother ship� for the Nov. 15 seizure of the Saudi vessel. The fully-loaded supertanker was probably low in the water and, therefore, easy to board by ladder or rope, he said.
Normally, well-armed and sophisticated Somali pirates use speedboats and satellite phones to coordinate attacks, with the mother ship as a base for their operations. The seizure of Sirius Star, three times the size of an aircraft carrier, followed another high-profile strike earlier this year by the pirates when they captured a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks and other military equipment.
They are still holding that vessel and about a dozen others, with more than 200 crew members hostage. Given that the pirates are well armed with grenades, machine-guns and rocket-launchers, foreign forces in the area are steering clear of direct attacks. Ship owners are negotiating ransoms in most cases.
Middle East energy analyst Samuel Ciszuk said this would almost certainly be the case with the Sirius Star. �Due to Somalia�s status as a failed state and the anarchic nature of politics in the country, the negotiators have no other option but to respond to the pirates. There is no government which can intervene.�
The Sirius Star held as much as two million barrels of oil, more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia�s daily exports. It had been heading for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
Source: Arab News
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