The attack on the Sirius Star, three times the mass of a US aircraft carrier and capable of carrying 2m barrels of crude oil, is the most audacious in recent times.

A large, Saudi-owned crude oil carrier Sirius Star has been captured by pirates in the Arabian Sea. The tanker was attacked 800 east of Mombasa, Kenya Photograph: Caters News Agency Ltd

It took place 520 miles south-east of Mombasa, Kenya, more than twice as far out to sea as other recent attacks on shipping, the US navy said. The International Chamber of Shipping said it believed the ship was 800 miles east of Mombasa when attacked.Reports earlier this afternoon on Arabiya television suggesting the crew had been freed could not be confirmed. The US Navy said it understood the pirates were holding the tanker “near an anchorage point” of the town of Eyl, Somalia, which has become a haven for pirates.

The Saudi- vessel was heading for the US via the Cape of Good Hope. There are 25 crew on board, including those from Britain, Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

“We are evaluating the situation,” Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet, said, when asked whether the navy was taking action to rescue the tanker.

He said he had spoken to those on board by telephone today from the headquarters in Bahrain. The vessel was hijacked on Saturday.

“Sirius Star is three times the size of a US aircraft carrier and shows how they are successfully expanding their operations,” Christensen said. He added the operation demonstrated a new level of sophistication as the attackers had to scale the 10-metre high sides of the vessel. Previous attacks have occurred within 200 nautical miles of land.

“We don’t know the condition of the crew on board or the nature of the pirates’ demands. In cases like this what we typically see is a demand for money from the ship owners but we haven’t had that yet,” he said.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office confirmed that two of those on board are British, but could not give any details of their role on the ship. He said: “We are seeking more information on the incident.”

Andrew Linington, from Nautilus UK, the seafarers union, said the British nationals on board were thought to be a master, and a chief engineer.

“This has come as a massive shock. It’s the biggest ship that’s ever been taken, and it’s a long way away from the area, which up until now has been regarded as the dangerous region; where the previous attacks have been,” he said. “Tankers of this size are usually safe from attacks. It’s a worrying escalation.”

Pirates, often based in Somalia, have made shipping routes off east Africa among the most dangerous in the world.

The route around southern Africa is a main thoroughfare for fully laden supertankers from the Gulf, the world’s biggest oil exporting region.

The Sirius Star is owned by a Dubai shipping firm, Vela International Marine Ltd, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, sending around 7m barrels per day (bpd) to global markets.

The very large crude carrier (VLCC) was sailing under a Liberian flag and is carrying an unspecified amount of oil. Built by Daewoo in South Korea, the 318,000-tonne, 330-metre-long vessel made its maiden voyage in March this year.

The ship is the largest vessel to come under attack by pirates in the area, a US Navy spokesman said.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia, has more than doubled in 2008, with assailants using GPS navigational aids and satellite phones to find potential targets, according to a report last month by the international affairs think tank, Chatham House. It warned of the danger a tanker could come under attack.

“As pirates become bolder and use ever more powerful weaponry a tanker could be set on fire, sunk or forced ashore, any of which could result in an environmental catastrophe that would devastate marine and bird life for years to come,” it said.

“The pirates’ aim is to extort ransom payments and to date that has been their main focus. However, the possibility that they could destroy shipping is very real.”

Vela International Marine Limited is the sixth largest VLCC-owner in the world, employing 1,100 people worldwide. It owns and operates a fleet of 24 tankers.

Last week, British commandos killed two suspected pirates who tried to seize a Danish ship in the Gulf of Aden during an operation involving a Royal Navy and a Russian warship (source: guardian.co.uk).

August 21, the pirates hijacked the MT ‘Irene’ when it was sailing from India to France. Onboard was a crew of 19 people from which 15 of the Philippines.

The pirates are a real plague in front of the coast of impoverished Somalia. The country is torn apart by internal wars and conflicts which are funded by this ransom money.

This year alone, Somalia pirates hijacked more than 30 ships. For example, the under Dutch flag sailing ship ‘Amiya Scan’ paid the pirates USD 1,25 million this year.

In the meantime, the international community is making plans to take action against these pirates. This week the UN took on a resolution that makes it possible to take certain measurements against them. A Russian was ship is in its way to Somalia.

In November, the European ministers will be discussing the founding of an International Maritime Peace Corps to fight these pirates acts. Probable participating countries are: France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Cyprus, and Latvia.

To be continued …

Source: AFP

This Friday, the Russian marine announced that it is going fight the pirate attacks near the waters of Somalia.