PIRATES CAPTURE SAUDI OIL TANKER !
Pirates have captured a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast.
The tanker was seized 450 nautical miles south-east of the port of Mombasa, a US Navy spokesman said.
Twenty five crew are said to be aboard the Sirius Star, including members from Croatia, the UK, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.
A Saudi TV report, which the US Navy and the ship's owner did not confirm, says the vessel has since been freed.
The report on the Al Arabyia channel quoted an unnamed "official" Saudi source.
A BBC correspondent in Mombasa reports that this is the third tanker to have been hijacked in the region.
It is also the largest vessel so far to come under attack by pirates in the area, the US Navy told the BBC.
The location is unusual and the capture marks a fundamental shift in tactics, the navy added.
Attacks on shipping off the Horn of Africa and Kenya by pirates, who are mostly Somali, prompted foreign navies to send warships to the area this year.
Pirates captured the tanker on Saturday, said Lt Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet.
It was sailing under the Liberian flag at the time, he said by telephone from the 5th Fleet's HQ in Bahrain.
Confirming that two Britons were aboard the tanker, the UK Foreign Office said it could not give any details of their role on the ship.
"We are seeking more information on the incident," a spokesman said.
Figures from the International Maritime Bureau show that attacks in the area - the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off the African coast - have made up one-third of all piracy incidents worldwide in 2008.
In the first nine months of the year 63 incidents were reported.
As of 30 September, 12 vessels remained captive and under negotiation with more than 250 crew being held hostage.
Pirates remain active and regularly strike in the region.
The tanker was seized 450 nautical miles south-east of the port of Mombasa, a US Navy spokesman said.
Twenty five crew are said to be aboard the Sirius Star, including members from Croatia, the UK, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.
A Saudi TV report, which the US Navy and the ship's owner did not confirm, says the vessel has since been freed.
The report on the Al Arabyia channel quoted an unnamed "official" Saudi source.
A BBC correspondent in Mombasa reports that this is the third tanker to have been hijacked in the region.
It is also the largest vessel so far to come under attack by pirates in the area, the US Navy told the BBC.
The location is unusual and the capture marks a fundamental shift in tactics, the navy added.
Attacks on shipping off the Horn of Africa and Kenya by pirates, who are mostly Somali, prompted foreign navies to send warships to the area this year.
Pirates captured the tanker on Saturday, said Lt Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet.
It was sailing under the Liberian flag at the time, he said by telephone from the 5th Fleet's HQ in Bahrain.
Confirming that two Britons were aboard the tanker, the UK Foreign Office said it could not give any details of their role on the ship.
"We are seeking more information on the incident," a spokesman said.
Figures from the International Maritime Bureau show that attacks in the area - the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off the African coast - have made up one-third of all piracy incidents worldwide in 2008.
In the first nine months of the year 63 incidents were reported.
As of 30 September, 12 vessels remained captive and under negotiation with more than 250 crew being held hostage.
Pirates remain active and regularly strike in the region.
In the past week alone
• A Russian warship in the Gulf of Aden drove off pirates who tried to capture the Saudi Arabian merchant ship Rabih
• Pirates hijacked a Japanese cargo ship off Somalia
• A Chinese fishing boat was seized off the Kenyan coast
• A Turkish ship transporting chemicals to India was hijacked off Yemen
• The UK's Royal Navy shot dead two suspected pirates attacking a Danish cargo-ship off the coast of Yemen.
• A Russian warship in the Gulf of Aden drove off pirates who tried to capture the Saudi Arabian merchant ship Rabih
• Pirates hijacked a Japanese cargo ship off Somalia
• A Chinese fishing boat was seized off the Kenyan coast
• A Turkish ship transporting chemicals to India was hijacked off Yemen
• The UK's Royal Navy shot dead two suspected pirates attacking a Danish cargo-ship off the coast of Yemen.
Lt Christensen of the US Navy said the attack was "unprecedented".
The Sirius Star was carrying a cargo of as much as two million barrels of oil, or more than one-quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily production.
On the markets, news of the hijacking halted early losses in global crude oil prices, Reuters news agency reported.
Weighing 318,000 dead weight tonnes, the ship is 330m (1,080ft) long and is classed as a Very Large Crude Carrier.
It is about as long as a Nimitz-class US aircraft carrier and, when loaded, weighs more than three times as much.
The Sirius Star, owned by the Saudi company Aramco, made its maiden voyage in March 2008.
It was built in South Korea's Daewoo shipyards and is operated by Vela International.
BBC NEWS REPORT
posted by jackaranda at 3:50 pm
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