Somali Pirates Seize U.S.-Bound Tanker

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN NAIROBI, Kenya — Somali pirates have struck again, this time seizing an enormous oil tanker heading to the United States, naval authorities said on Monday. According to European naval reports, nine pirates hijacked the tanker 600 miles offshore and headed back to one of their notorious lairs in central Somalia.

The tanker is listed at 300,000 tons and may be one of the biggest ships ever taken.
The Somali pirate business appears to be back in full swing after a brief lull this summer that some people mistakenly attributed to the increased naval patrols but in reality was more likely because of the monsoon season. Now that the seas are calm, the pirates are striking with impunity again.

“They have definitely increased their capacity and their ability to stay out at sea for longer,” said Cyrus Mody, manager of the International Maritime Bureau in London. He said this gave them “the reach and the capability.” The pirates, who are often penniless former fishermen from Somalia’s war zones, appeared to be using so-called mother ships to position themselves in the middle of the ocean and attack vessels hundreds of miles away. From the mother ships they deploy motorized dinghies.

The pirates are focusing on the vast stretch of ocean between the African mainland and Seychelles, a set of picturesque islands best known for their beaches. In the past two months, 38 ships have been attacked and 10 hijacked, the International Maritime Bureau said. This continues despite a hefty naval presence, with an average of 20 warships per day cruising off Somalia’s coast.

Still, American officials said, it is not enough. “It’s 2.5 million square miles we’re dealing with,” said Lt. Matt Allen, a spokesman for United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain. “It’s a very large area. It’s a daunting task.”

The pirates seem to have shifted their hunt from the Gulf of Aden, where dozens of ships were attacked in 2008 but which is now heavily patrolled, to the southern waters near Seychelles. That is where a British couple taking the trip of a lifetime were recently hijacked in their sailboat. Their kidnappers have threatened to kill them unless a seven-figure ransom is paid.
Cash like this seems to be drawing more and more Somalis into the business. Piracy used to be dominated by two clans, the Saleban, based in Xarardheere, and the Majeerten, who brought hijacked ships back to a small beach town called Eyl. Now, according to witnesses in Somalia, many other clans are involved, even Bantus, a minority group best known as farmers.
It is not clear who seized the oil tanker, which was hijacked on Sunday, though the news was not released until Monday.

According to European naval officials, the ship is owned by a Greek company and was heading to New Orleans from Jidda, Saudi Arabia. Its crew included Greeks, Filipinos, Ukrainians and a Romanian.

Maritime officials said the ship was similar in size to the Sirius Star, a tanker hijacked last year that was ransomed for $3 million.