Pirates hijack super-tanker

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PeterCH

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Supertanker is hijacked off coast of KenyaBy Steve Gelsi
Last update: 12:38 p.m. EST Nov. 17, 2008Comments: 32NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Navy on Monday said pirates seized the supertanker Sirius Star as it sailed in the Indian Ocean more than 400 nautical miles south-east of the port of Mombasa, Kenya, with a full load of two million barrels of oil, according to reports Monday. Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, told the BBC the attack was "unprecedented" in its distance from the shore. The ship and its crew of 25 is nearing a anchorage point at Eyl, a port in Somalia's Puntland region. It's the third tanker, and by far the largest, to be hijacked in the region. Vela International, the operator of the ship, said the crew were reported to be safe.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...x?guid={3193C122-B4E5-4D15-9241-4C5A85C48073}

This is not the first time pirates have attempted to hijack an oil tanker. In
April they tried to seize the Takayama, but failed after the crew managed to repel them.
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,584740,00.html
 
Watching BBC World - they are in a quandary about where to prosecute any pirates they capture - simple solution, don't capture the savages, just shoot the **** out of them.
 
Frankie said:
Watching BBC World - they are in a quandary about where to prosecute any pirates they capture - simple solution, don't capture the savages, just shoot the **** out of them.
Click to expand...

I only wish they would shoot the **** out of them. I think Pirate = Automatic execution.
 
That was how they did it for hundreds of years. Piracy on the high seas = no trial, immediate hanging.
 
What amazes me is that in this day and age of satelite coverage and high tech navies and submarines they are not able to rid the seas of this scum. These "pirates" are becoming bolder by the day and one of these days they are going to take a passenger ship hostage and then what? Next thing we know they will be heading south to the Mozamabique channel!
Its about time the world did something about this and very quickly too or we are heading for groot moeilikheid (not quite the words I wanted to use.. but I am sure the ghist is there)
 
OhGats said:
What amazes me is that in this day and age of satelite coverage and high tech navies and submarines they are not able to rid the seas of this scum. These "pirates" are becoming bolder by the day and one of these days they are going to take a passenger ship hostage and then what? Next thing we know they will be heading south to the Mozamabique channel!
Its about time the world did something about this and very quickly too or we are heading for groot moeilikheid (not quite the words I wanted to use.. but I am sure the ghist is there)
Click to expand...

It's a matter of money. Who's going to pay to equip a task force, send it in,
and do it's deed. You may not know it but I bet it costs a few million dollars to get a team in a cruiser out there, find the ship, board it with Navy SEALS
or SAS or name you special forces unit and then retake it. Then you need to get these people back, get the pirates back somewhere and pay for their treatment, etc -- all that costs MONEY and it also risks lives (lives of the crew and lives of the military personel). A crippled-for-life-marine will cost
millions of dollars for the remainder of his life.

I think that's the issue at stake. If the oil co's pay, these navies will do the deed, but maybe they don't want to pay especially with cheap oil and the world in recession.
 
I would send out one of my biggest oil tankers (empty of course) waite for the pirates to board the vessel some 400 nautical miles and drop a mini nuke on them. Job done lets go home.
 
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