3 million dollars ransom drops in for Somali pirates

After days of  tense negotiations, the  aircraft  swooped  over  the  stern of the supertanker Sirius Star and released its valuable cargo.

As US Navy observers watched, the  pirates  seized  the  container  of cash  before disembarking  from  the 330mlong  (1,080ft)  Saudi Arabian vessel.

Speaking  by  telephone  from  the pirate  lair  in  the port of Harardhere, Farah Osman, a member of the gang, revealed  that  they had  escaped,  and adding: “The pirates are now arguing about division of the money.”

His  colleague,  Mohamed  Said, said:  “All our people have now  left the Sirius Star. The  ship  is  free,  the crew is free.”

The air drop in the Indian Ocean brought  to  an  end  one  of  the most brazen  acts  of  piracy  in  the  world. Navies  from around  the world were sent  to protect one of  the most vital shipping  corridors  when  the  gang initially demanded up to $25 million.

Last  night  the  supertanker  was sailing south towards an undisclosed port.

All of the 25 man crew on board the  vessel,  which  had  two  million barrels of Saudi crude oil worth $100 million,  were  believed  to  be  safe. They  included  two  Britons  as  well as Croats, Poles, Saudi Arabians and Filipinos.

Western  diplomats,  a  regional maritime group and associates of the gang all confrmed the release. “The last batch  of  gunmen  have  disembarked from the Sirius Star,” Andrew Mwangura, of  the East African Seafarers Assistance Programmer, based in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, told Reuters.

The ship was believed to be headed  toward  heading  south  last  night, possibly toward Kenya or South Africa. However, Vela International, the Dubaibased  shipping  arm  of  Saudi Aramco,  the  national  oil  company of Saudi Arabia  that owns  the  ship, could not be reached for comment.

The Foreign Office was trying to make contact with the Britons: James Grady, the Second Officer, and Peter French, the engineer. Throughout the ordeal they relayed messages back to their  families  saying  that  they were being treated well.

In  a  telephone  interview  with in November Mr. French, from Co Durham,  insisted  that  their abductors were no problem and they were  able  to  continue  their  duties.

His manner was so matter of fact that at one point he asked an ITN reporter the latest football scores  involving his team, Newcastle United.

Mr. Grady, 53, a father  of  two, also appeared calm, sending his love to his  family before  adding  that  the pirates were heavily armed. Neither of the men’s relatives was available for comment.

The Sirius Star was  hijacked on November  15 more  than  500 miles southeast of Mombasa – south of the Gulf  of Aden,  which  is  one  of  the busiest shipping lanes and the scene of  similar  attacks by Somali pirates in the past.

The  incident has  cast  fresh  light on the deteriorating security situation in Somalia, where an Islamist insurgency has  fuelled  further  instability. Piracy  is now one of the biggest  industries  in  the East African country, which has not had a functioning government  since  the  1980s.  A  recent report  by Chatham House  said  that

Somali pirates had earned more than $30 million last year in ransoms.

Somali  pirate  gangs  are  usually heavily  armed,  with  machineguns, rocket  launchers  and  grenades,  and are often equipped with satellite telephones and GPS positioning technology. They are known  to  receive  tipoffs from contacts in ports.

According to figures from the In Maritime  Organization, there  were  at  least  92 attacks  last year  and  36  successful  hijackings, with  13  ships  currently  being  held, including  the  MV  Faina,  a  Ukrainian  vessel  holding  tanks  and  other military equipment that was captured three months ago.

The  US  said  on  Thursday  that an  international  anti  piracy  naval taskforce,  with  warships  from  23 countries, would  start patrolling  the region.  Chinese vessels also  began anti piracy patrols along the coast of Somalia.

The  Spanish  Government  announced after the release that it was considering  dispatching  up  to  395 troops  to  the  EU  naval  mission  to combat piracy in the region.

The EU mission Atalante, a coalition of eight countries, began operations off the coast of Somalia on December 8 to try to stem the growing piracy.  It  is now under British command, but Spain  is expected  to  take over later this year.

Fruit de la mare
▪ It is believed  that pirates made more than $30million in ransom payments in 2008
▪  Pirates  are  demanding  more than  $20  million  for  the  return  of Ukrainian ship MV Faina
▪  Since  30th  December  11  attacks by pirates on  ships have been reported
▪  20,000  ships  sail  through  the Gulf of Aden each year
▪ The average ransom demanded by Somali pirates is £1 million

Source:  Times  Archive,  International Maritime Bureau