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Pirates Seize Oil Tanker with $200 Million of Crude

   Sean Maroney  February 09, 2011
   The  Italian  oil tanker Mv Savina Caylyn, which was seized by pirates
   east  of the Yemeni island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, February 8,
   2011

Photo: AFP

   The  Italian  oil tanker Mv Savina Caylyn, which was seized by pirates
   east  of the Yemeni island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, February 8,
   2011

   Armed  pirates  have  hijacked  a U.S.-bound oil tanker carrying about
   $200 million worth of crude off the coast of Oman. Authorities say the
   Greek-flagged  vessel  has a crew of 25, including 17 Filipinos, seven
   Greeks and one Georgian.

   This  is  the  second pirate seizure of an oil tanker in as many days.
   Experts  say  that  while  the  price  tag  of  the  vesselâs cargo is
   shocking,  it  is  the  location  of  the  incident  that  is far more
   alarming.
   Suspected  Somali  pirates  captured  the  supertankerIrene  SL  early
   Wednesday  off the coast of Oman as it was transporting some 2 million
   barrels of Kuwaiti crude oil destined for the United States.
   Bill  Box is the communications manager for INTERTANKO, an association
   whose  members  own  about three-quarters of the worldâs tanker fleet.
   The Irene SL falls under this group.
   Box  said  that  with  one  hijacking,  the pirates were able to seize
   one-fifth  of  the  United  Statesâ  total daily imports of crude oil,
   worth an estimated $200 million. He emphasized, though, the real cause
   for concern is the location of Wednesdayâs incident.
   "The  pirates  are  spreading  their net much wider right out over the
   Indian  Ocean,  all the way over toward the coast of India," said Box.
   "I mean, this hijacking of this Irene SL happened 1,000 miles from the
   coast of Somalia."
   Box  said  this area is right in the middle of the main shipping lanes
   that connect the Persian Gulf and the rest of the world.
   Wing  Commander  Paddy  OâKennedy  is  the  spokesman for the European
   Unionâs  anti-piracy  force.  He  said pirates have a longer reach now
   because  more  are  operating  from  so-called  "motherships,"  larger
   vessels  that  serve  as launching pads for smaller ships to carry out
   attacks.  He  said  this  has  allowed  pirates to launch more attacks
   year-round.
   "At the moment, the northeast monsoon is blowing," said OâKennedy. "In
   the  past,  they  hadn't been able to get off the beach because of the
   size  of  the  waves.  Now the weather is really not having much of an
   effect because they're using these motherships."
   OâKennedy  said  his  organization  is teaching shipping companies how
   vessels  can  better defend themselves against armed assaults. He said
   training and sea patrols, however, are not going to make Somali piracy
   go away.
   "In  terms  of how we can solve this problem, weâre not going to solve
   it  at sea; we know that," said OâKennedy. "Weâre not deterring piracy
   because the business model is just too rewarding for Somalis."
   OâKennedy  notes that Somali pirates have made hundreds of millions of
   dollars by hijacking ships for ransom in recent years. He said only by
   helping  Somalis  create  an  effective  government can the problem be
   solved.
   According  to  the  EUâs anti-piracy task force, pirates currently are
   holding at least 30 ships and more than 700 hostages.

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