Dramatic end to audacious piracy heist

The audacious heist by pirates
of the Saudi-owned tanker, MV
Sirius Star, in November ended on
a happy note at week’s end for the
vessel and her 25-member crew
who were released after a ransom
of US$3 million was paid in
most unusual fashion – a canister
dropped by parachute from a
small aircraft.
But for the five Somali
pirates it was a less than positive
outcome when their small
boat capsized and all five on
board drowned.
So ended one of the most
gripping modern-day piracy sagas
which led to even international
maritime experts and seasoned
seafarers shaking their heads in
wonderment that a ragtag band of
armed men in small speed boats
would have the pluck to attack
this, the largest target to date.
Owned by Saudi Aramco and
operated by its shipping arm Vela
International Marine, the Sirius
Star, only launched last year and
worth around US$148 million,
was en route to the US with two
million barrels of oil, representing
one-third of Saudi Arabia’s
daily production.
In what was to prove yet
another first for pirates, who
usually operate fairly close to
the coast of Somali, the VLCC
with her US$100 million cargo
was seized far out to sea, 450
nautical miles southeast of
Mombasa, the route around the
Cape of Good Hope chosen
specifically to avoid piracy attacks
in the Gulf of Aden.
At around the same time as the
release of the Sirius Star, pirates
also freed an 82 849dwt Turkish
Bulk carrier Yassa Neslihan and
her crew after an unspecified
ransom was paid by her owners.
With the EU’s new anti-piracy
drive, code-named Atalanta,
kicking in last month off Somalia
and in the Gulf of Aden, shipping
experts say the first tentative signs
point to the efforts of the world’s
navies beginning to have a
pronounced effect on the activities
of these seaborne terrorists.
On January 4 a French warship
foiled attacks on Croatia and
Panama-flagged cargo ships, eight
suspected pirates subsequently
being handed over to the
Somali authorities.
China is considering whether
to add its naval voice to the antipiracy
drive and Japan is in the
process of presenting a bill to
parliament seeking approval to
also join in the fight.