Somali pirates seize supertanker with 25 crew

SOMALI pirates hijacked a supertanker hundreds of miles off the Horn of Africa, seizing the Saudi-owned ship loaded with crude and its 25-member crew, the US Navy said.

After the hijacking, the pirates sailed the Sirius Star to a Somali port, a haven for bandits and the ships they have seized, a Navy spokesman said.

The hijacking was among the most brazen in a surge in attacks by pirates. Attacks off the Somali coast have risen more than 75% this year and the world’s largest vessels are vulnerable.

The Sirius Star, commissioned in March and owned by the Saudi oil company Aramco, is 1,080ft long (about the length of an aircraft carrier) making it one of the largest ships to sail the seas. It can carry about two million barrels of oil.

Lt Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, said the pirates hijacked the ship on Saturday about 450 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya, the farthest out to sea pirates have struck.

Somali pirates have seized at least six ships off the Horn of Africa in the past week, but the hijacking of a supertanker was a dramatic escalation.

The pirates are trained fighters, often dressed in military fatigues, using speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rockets launchers and various types of grenades.

With most attacks ending with million-dollar payouts, piracy is considered the most lucrative work in Somalia. Pirates rarely hurt their hostages, instead holding out for a huge payday.

The strategy works well: A report last month by a London-based think tank said pirates have raked in up to $30m (€24m) in ransoms this year alone.