Somali pirates build up defenses after making ransom demand for Saudi tanker

Saturday 22nd November, 07:00 AM JST

MOGADISHU —

Somali pirates built up their defenses around a captured Saudi Arabian super-tanker Friday after demanding a $25 million ransom.

As foreign navies sent warships to Somalia’s dangerous waters and shipping companies sought alternative routes, extra clan militia and other fighters were brought in at the pirate lair of Harardhere, residents said.

“Some of them are inside the town and others are taking shelter in a nearby village and can be called if need be,” local resident Mohamed Awale said. He said the fighters had come from neighboring Gulgudud and Mudug regions.

Local militia and hardline Shebab fighters also arrived in Harardhere in what some residents said was a move to position themselves for a share of any ransom paid.

“There are two armed vehicles belonging to al Shebab. They have reached the town of Harardhere but there are no intentions of attacking the ship from here,” a Harardhere Islamist official said by phone.

“There are many militiamen who have arrived in the town and they want to get a share from the pirates if the ransom is paid,” said Ahmed Abdullahi, a local elder.

The Sirius Star, the biggest ship ever hijacked, and its 100 million dollar load of oil was seized last Saturday and taken to Harardhere, 300 kilometers north of lawless Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.

The pirates on Thursday gave the owners 10 days to pay a $25 million ransom, said a pirate who identified himself as Mohamed Said, threatening “disastrous” consequences if Vela International, shipping arm of the Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco, fail to comply.

“The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous,” he said.

He did not specify the threatened action but the 330-meter long tanker is carrying two million barrels of crude oil.

Environmental groups have warned of a huge catastrophe if oil from the super-tanker was released.

Some experts have said that the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship seized by the same pirates in September with a cargo of tanks and other weaponry, was booby-trapped by the hijackers.

With close to 100 attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean this year, the pirates now pose a growing threat to international trade.

Pirates with no confirmed links to bigger organisations and relatively modest means have seized ships of all sizes and in an ever-growing area.

Two speedboats with pirates armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-launchers seized the Saudi tanker in 16 minutes on Saturday, according to a military report.

The United States said it would seek support at the United Nations for a resolution to tighten international measures against Somali pirates.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said he was opposed to any negotiations with pirates.

“Like terrorism, it is an evil that has to be eradicated,” Prince Saud told reporters in Oslo.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said Somali pirates had been paid $150 million in ransom over the past 12 months, adding that this was fueling a global criminal enterprise.

“We are advised that in the last 12 months, ransom to the excess of $150 million has been paid to these criminals and that is why they are becoming more and more audacious in their activities,” Wetangula said.

The Indian frigate INS Tabar, one of dozens of warships from several countries protecting commercial shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, sank a Somali pirate ship Tuesday after coming under fire.

Russia announced it would send more warships to combat piracy and also called for an international ground military operation to crush piracy.

Meanwhile, pirates on Friday freed Greek-owned MV Genius chemical tanker and its 19 Romanian crew hijacked on Sept 25, a Kenyan maritime official said.

After the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said the pirates were now “out of control,” Arab nations bordering the Red Sea meting in Cairo on Thursday and pledged cooperation to end the threat—but offered few specifics.

Oslo-based Frontline Ltd, the world’s biggest oil tanker company, said that a more aggressive military approach was needed.

Other maritime groups have decided to steer clear of Somalia’s treacherous waters by diverting ships to the Cape of Good Hope, despite the extra delays and costs.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 20 Total Comments Show All

Alphaape at 03:10 PM JST - 22nd November

Sad indeed. For once I wish "W" would show some of the same "hutzpah" that he used in going into Iraq. I think even with his low approval ratings, the world would generally not condone him for sending US Naval vessels to take out a few pirate ships and maybe bomb a coastal city or two. But, he has done nothing, and India is the only nation showing that it has the guts to put action into words.

powderfinge, good post. That sums it up exactly.
mcheeky at 03:31 PM JST - 22nd November

Just one more threat to civilization that suicidal, sentimental Lefty morality has brought us:

Suicidal? Who died? More on that later.

I do not know who the author of that piece was or what his sources were, but it seems to me the primary problem with stopping the pirates has been the simple fact that no one will pursue them into Somali territorial waters without the permission of the Somali government, which is rare enough.

Now, I might agree that is just like a lefty to give a hoot about the rule of law rather than call it all just a bunch of scribbles on paper. But something that was not included in the snippet was the fact the pirates are, at this time, treating their hostages quite well. Up the ante and we could start getting a lot of dead hostages (that would be suicidal, or more accurately, homicidal). Also typically lefty to put innocent human hostage lives ahead of some rich guy's money, isn't it?

As for the pirates' lives, I really could not care much less. But I want to be darn sure it is the right people getting it first. Second, I would rather they rot their miserable lives away in jail, for many reasons including the desire to not create any Islamist martyrs. But if they get shot while attacking or threatening ships, like they did threatening Indian ships recently, oh well.

So am I just thinking ahead? Or do you have some money invested in shipping companies which operate around the Gulf of Aden?
sailwind at 04:26 PM JST - 22nd November

Time for the Saudi's to start thinking about and asking the U.S about re-flagging her tankers under the U.S flag.

America could more than likely get quite a few concessions from the Saudi's on the whole diplomatic front as far M.E overall policy before she would accept the role. I'm thinking the whole Israeli / Palistinian conflict for starters. If Saudi Arabia where to ever just recognize Isreal's right to just exist the two state solution would finally move forward for starters. Lot's of good possibilities here for the U.S and M.E relations and improvements of the overall picture.

But if this idea ever of mine if ever does happen and there is precedence as when we re-flagged Kuwait's tankers during the Iraq and Iran war at their request to protect her shipping, it means full U.S Naval protection.

Or in other words if the Sirius Star was sailing under a U.S flag there the pirates wouldn't have gotten within 10 nautical miles of her and if they did somehow manage to get closer would be pre-shredded shark food by now.

The pirates would have had a bad day a very bad day indeed.
romulus3 at 05:06 PM JST - 22nd November

Russia announced it would send more warships to combat piracy and also called for an international ground military operation to crush piracy.

This is the only way to combat it. Take control of the ports and waste all the pirates on their way to the boats.
proxy at 05:10 PM JST - 22nd November

Oh the irony! The Islamic fundamentalists had the pirates under control but when they were toppled the pirates swung into action. This is just another Bush (right wing) failure. The pirates still have that ship full of tanks to defend themselves.
Alphaape at 05:35 PM JST - 22nd November

Oh the irony! The Islamic fundamentalists had the pirates under control but when they were toppled the pirates swung into action. This is just another Bush (right wing) failure.

proxy, you need to stop sipping the far let "kool aid" and do a little research. "W" has not sent any of our troops into Somalia. The last time we (US) was there was back in 1993, remember the Battle of Mogadishu? After that a shift in American foreign policy, under President Clinton, became increasingly reluctant to use military intervention in Third World conflicts.

So, yes Bush I did send US (along with UN support and Peacekeepers) to help out when they were in crisis, but when things go too hot after our policy shifted from delivering food supplies to Nation building (again a Clinton shifti policy) that has much to do with the situation over there now. Somalia has no strong central government so to speak, still being ruled by war lords, after the money. The only thing they will probably understand is direct force. Like it or not, but that is how they have chosen to live. People born there back in 1993 (and if they are still alive) have lived in a nation that has been run by warlords all their life, so the only thing they will understand is probably the rule of the gun. I don't think sitting down and talking to them and making nice promises to bring democracy will do much good.

If the UN had any "balls" it would just order the next pirate mother ship seen to be sunk.
nandakandamanda at 05:35 PM JST - 22nd November

Get the oil booms ready to contain the spill. Then get all the vultures in one net. Strike hard and fast before they have time to build elaborate defences.
Azrael at 05:40 PM JST - 22nd November

In other news on Yahoo I read that the pirates are at odds with Muslim extremists for attacking a "Muslim ship." Things can take an interesting turn in that direction...

"Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country and hijacking its ship is a bigger crime than other ships," Sheikh Abdirahim Isse Adow, an Islamist spokesman, told Reuters. "Haradheere is under our control and we shall do something about that ship."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081121/wlnm/ussomaliaconflict8
nandakandamanda at 05:50 PM JST - 22nd November

There is a good overall summary of the difficulties faced in dealing with pirates, in the Sanyo Newspaper, for those who read Japanese. http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20081122-00000501-san-int
Alphaape at 05:53 PM JST - 22nd November

I should add to my previous post, the first Bush not the present President.
proxy at 06:05 PM JST - 22nd November

Alphaape I suggest to do a bit of research. Bush sent at least 100 American service personnel and millions of dollars to Ethiopia to get the Ethiopian proxies to topple the Somali muslims, not to mention direct American strikes against Islamic fundamentalists in Somalia. It failed and the entire country is worse off then ever.
proxy at 06:11 PM JST - 22nd November

And don't get me wrong. The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) is full of nutters and worthy of being wiped out. The failure is that the Bush, CIA backed Somali warlords are just as nutty. The Bush backed nutter warlords are probably the pirates.
sailwind at 06:29 PM JST - 22nd November

It failed and the entire country is worse off then ever.

The country has been a total disaster since the U.N relief mission pulled up stakes under Clinton. Worse off??? It was never off the point of being worse off in the first place.

Our attempts to try and prevent Somalia from being another staging area for A.Q to regroup and train as they were able to do under the Taliban in Afghanistan after they were booted out of Sudan......Is the right policy to pursue. That ain't right wing that is pragmatic and wise diplomacy on our part. I have to say your overall point lacks a lot of merit if you look at the big picture in the overall war on terrorism.

The Bush backed nutter warlords are probably the pirates.

Pure conjecture on your part. The pirates are more than likely not affiliated with any warlords or clans, more a law unto themselves and reading the article seems lot's of other Somali's want a piece of the ransom action.
unscrejects at 07:34 PM JST - 22nd November

13 years ago I got a request from a Hiroshima based auto maker - their ship had been threatened by pirates near Cyprus - they wanted me to study piracy and see if I could make a report. I had no idea where to begin but once I started what a shock I got. There was virtually no seafaring country on earth that had any form of interest in tackling the crime - many countries simply said, "Look the boats are flagged in some faraway Banana Island... besides the boat owners are a cartel that is so secretive try talking to them... I did and I found it easier to get a sober date with Miss Hilton than to just get a ball park figure of where their ships were flagged. Folks remember the big oil spill off Spain about six years ago? Nobody seemed to own the ship. One of the stunning revelations I made was that ships that had sunk in storms twenty years before were in fact very much afloat and carrying cargo we'd rather not know about.

So to this current problem, who pays the navy that patrols the seas? If we engage the pirates once they've boarded, are we prepared to pay for any loss of crew lives? And lets remember that the companies that supply the crews are rubbing their hands hoping for a mishap - they carry whopping huge insurance contracts for each crew member. Life can be funny.

Should the pirates scuttle a ship what about oil slicks and chemical pollution?

The final little secret I discovered was that shipping companies routinely pulled pirate bluffs for the insurance. Just imagine if a Saudi prince decided to 'rob' his rich uncle by staging a piracy...

Food for thought.
Madverts at 12:19 AM JST - 23rd November

ahem, powderfinger,

"Shouldn't some angry beardo in Saudi somewhere have issued a fatwa by now?"

Heh, it's got to the point where the "war on Islam" fundementalists in the US just keep up the comedy....

"Somali Islamist insurgents have begun searching for the pirates who hijacked a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker last Saturday, reports say.

A spokesman for the al-Shabab group, Abdelghafar Musa, said hijacking a Muslim-owned ship was a major crime and they would pursue those responsible.

I haven't heard you come out with a classic like that since the "alien religion" claim, old buddy!