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Five pirates drown with loot
Source: Agencies |
January 11, 2009, Sunday
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Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported US$3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said yesterday.
Pirate Daud Nure said the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday.
He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure said he was not part of the operation but knew those involved.
Jamal Abdulle, a resident of the Somali coastal town of Haradhere, close to where the ship had been anchored, also confirmed that the boat sank and that the eight's portion of the ransom money that had been shared between dozens of pirates was lost. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi said yesterday that the crew of the Sirius Star was safe and that the tanker was on its way home. He said the vessel had left Somalia's territorial waters and was headed to the Saudi port of Dammam.
US Navy photos released on Friday showed a parachute, carrying what was described as "an apparent payment," floating toward the tanker. The Sirius Star and its 25-member crew had been held since November 15. Its cargo of crude oil was valued at US$100 million at the time.
The capture was seen as a dramatic demonstration of the pirates' ability to strike high value targets hundreds of kilometers offshore.
On the same day the Saudi ship was freed, pirates released a captured Iranian-chartered cargo ship, Iran's state television reported yesterday. It said the ship Daylight was carrying 36 tons of wheat when it was attacked in the Gulf of Aden on November 18 and seized by pirates. All 25 crew were in good health and the vessel was sailing toward Iran, the TV report said.
The pirate-infested Gulf of Aden is one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
The US Navy announced last week it would head a new anti-piracy task force after more than 100 ships were attacked last year. China, NATO and the European Union already have warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and have intervened to prevent several ships from being captured.
More than a dozen ships with about 300 crew members are still being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia, including the weapons-laden Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was seized in September.
Pirate Daud Nure said the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday.
He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure said he was not part of the operation but knew those involved.
Jamal Abdulle, a resident of the Somali coastal town of Haradhere, close to where the ship had been anchored, also confirmed that the boat sank and that the eight's portion of the ransom money that had been shared between dozens of pirates was lost. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi said yesterday that the crew of the Sirius Star was safe and that the tanker was on its way home. He said the vessel had left Somalia's territorial waters and was headed to the Saudi port of Dammam.
US Navy photos released on Friday showed a parachute, carrying what was described as "an apparent payment," floating toward the tanker. The Sirius Star and its 25-member crew had been held since November 15. Its cargo of crude oil was valued at US$100 million at the time.
The capture was seen as a dramatic demonstration of the pirates' ability to strike high value targets hundreds of kilometers offshore.
On the same day the Saudi ship was freed, pirates released a captured Iranian-chartered cargo ship, Iran's state television reported yesterday. It said the ship Daylight was carrying 36 tons of wheat when it was attacked in the Gulf of Aden on November 18 and seized by pirates. All 25 crew were in good health and the vessel was sailing toward Iran, the TV report said.
The pirate-infested Gulf of Aden is one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
The US Navy announced last week it would head a new anti-piracy task force after more than 100 ships were attacked last year. China, NATO and the European Union already have warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and have intervened to prevent several ships from being captured.
More than a dozen ships with about 300 crew members are still being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia, including the weapons-laden Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was seized in September.
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