Who do pirates call to get their cash?

The hijacking of ships off the coast of Somalia has become a mini-industry, with another seized on Thursday. The ransoms are always paid - but how? Simon Cox goes on the money trail and finds all roads lead to one destination: London.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia is big business. Last year alone pirate gangs were paid an estimated £35m from holding scores of ships and hundreds of crew members to ransom.

But securing their release is the responsibility of a hidden mini-industry of lawyers, negotiators and security teams based nearly 7,000km (4,200 miles) away, in London, UK, the business capital of the world's maritime industry. FINE OUT MORE...
The Investigation is on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, 29 January, at 2000 GMT
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The key players in this sector like to keep their activities as discreet as possible but in my investigation I gained access to people involved in every part of the ransom chain.

When a ship's owner discovers one of their fleet has been hijacked, the first port of call for them is normally to a lawyer like Stephen Askins, whose firm is one of the few that deals with kidnaps and ransoms at sea.

"We would expect to be called early," says Mr Askins. "And how you then deal with the negotiations will be a team decision.

There's no official "how to pay a ransom" rulebook - and the uncertainty leads "lots of sensitivity".

Can't walk away

"[P]eople will do it in different ways," says Mr Askins, "but at the end of the day it's somebody from the owner's side talking to someone from the pirate's side, negotiating their way to a final settlement."
Aboard a captured ship


Enlarge Image


No two kidnaps are the same but the proliferation of attacks off the coast of Somalia in the past year means a pattern has been established where the pirates see it as a business. They may be armed and dangerous but, Mr Askins says, money is their chief motivation.

"They are negotiating for money, therefore anybody who has been on holiday and has tried to bargain with an Egyptian [market trader] for a carpet will understand how difficult it is to negotiate a conclusion. But we don't have the option of walking away, we have got to keep negotiating."

It's a radical departure from the airline hijackings of previous decades. Then, hijackers, who tended to be politically motivated, knew it was only a matter of time before special forces would be called in and try to kill them. Ransoms were often not paid.

But Somali piracy is different. Paying a ransom is not illegal under British law, unless it's to terrorists. And while governments have failed to clamp down to hijackings, a precedent of paying up has been established. So, as soon as pirates set foot on a ship they know pay day is only a matter of time.

The next link in the chain is a specialist negotiator, whose job is to try to reach a reasonable price.

Going rate

Negotiations tend to begin with astronomical demands from the hijackers before the price is bargained downwards.


How do you pay a pirate's ransom?
Q&A: Somali piracy
Japan to deploy ships off Somalia

James Wilkes, who runs specialist maritime risk company Gray Page, which has been involved in negotiations in several hijackings in Somalia, says it can mean daily contact with pirates for several months. The average hijack lasts two months before a ransom is paid.

The going ransom rate is $1m-$2m, but getting to a final figure is like a "tense boardroom negotiation" he says.

"A commercial transaction is probably a good way to describe it. They have hijacked the ship, the crew and its cargo and they want a certain amount of money for its release.

"It's about finding the right way to get the ship released and on the right terms, although human lives are involved and the consequences of something going wrong are quite significant."

But agreeing a ransom leads to an even bigger headache - getting the money to the pirates.

It's fraught with difficulties. The ransom for the Sirus Star oil tanker, hijacked in November, appeared to have been dropped from the air. But normally it means delivering a huge wodge of cash by sea to the hijackers, who will have anchored off the coast of northern Somalia.

Once a drop-off boat and crew have been hired and the weather negotiated, there's another big hurdle, according to risk consultant Darren Dickson: more pirates.

Navigating the high seas with a stash of money is not for the fainthearted.

Fixed overheads

"Some of these people who have done these drop offs by boat actually have to fend off pirates as they are delivering the ransom themselves," says Mr Dikinson. His firm, whose firm has delivered ransoms to several pirate gangs. We are trying to do the job we have always done at the rates we would charge in any other case.

Stephen Askins

Dodging the pirates is only one difficulty - another is to make sure the good guys know what you're up to as well. According to Mr Dickson, of Drum Cussac, it's vital that "you're not going to be looked at as a pirate vessel... then you might get taken out by a naval vessel."

All these specialist services don't come cheap in the UK. Factor in the cost of lawyers, risk consultants, security advisers, as well as the fixed overheads, and delivering the money to the pirates "can lead to doubling the ransom amount," says Simon Beale a marine underwriter.

Last year Somali pirates pocketed an estimated $50m. Not all of this is going to British lawyers, negotiators and security teams but a fair chunk of it will be. It has led to some criticism, particularly in Spain, that London is profiting from crime.

"I don't think people are trying to exploit the situation", says maritime lawyer Mr Askins. "We are very much trying to do the job we have always done at the rates we would charge in any other case."

And what happens to the tens of millions of pounds that the pirates make?

All the kidnap specialists who deal with the Somali pirates say it's a purely criminal enterprise. But Bruno Schiemsky, a Kenyan arms analyst, believes there is an even darker link - between the pirates and the radical Islamist group al-Shabab. SOMALIA PIRACY
More than 100 attacks in 2008
40 successful hijackings
14 ships currently held, including the MV Faina carrying tanks
About 200 crew held hostage
Source: International Maritime Bureau, 2008

He says the pirates will pay a percentage of the ransom to al-Shabab - as much as 50 per cent in areas where the group is in control.

"It's an alliance of convenience, which makes it fragile," says Mr Schiemsky, "but for the moment both parties - pirates and al-Shabab - see the value of working together since they have a common enemy, the international community, and this relationship is only getting stronger through time. "

Trying to verify this is difficult. When I ask the Serious Organised Crime Agency if it has any suspicions about where the money was going, I get a firm "no comment".

But the American diplomat chairing a new international group of 24 nations which is looking at tackling Somali piracy said US counter piracy officials wanted to find out more about how pirate operations were paid for and which "outside sources" were involved.

If a link was established between the pirates and terrorists it could create serious problems for all parties involved. As one underwriter summed it up, "we'd all be going to jail".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7847351.stm, 29 Jan 2009

Saudi tanker 'freed off Somalia' - 15

A Saudi supertanker that was captured by Somali pirates in November carrying two million barrels of oil has been released, reports quoting pirates say.

A regional maritime group also said pirates had left the Sirius Star, Reuters news agency reported.

A negotiator for the pirates told the BBC a $3m (£1.95m) ransom was paid.

A small plane was seen apparently dropping the ransom by parachute onto the tanker. The ship's owner has refused to comment.

The vessel, with 25 crew, is the biggest tanker ever to be hijacked.

Coalition naval forces in Bahrain said it appeared that the pirates on the Sirius Star had received a ransom payment in a container parachuted from a plane.

Reuters later reported that five of the pirates making off with the ransom money had drowned after their boat was hit by high seas.

The audacious seizure of the tanker had drawn fresh attention to the dangerous waters off Somalia's coastline. All our people have now left the Sirius Star. The ship is free, the crew is free

Somali pirate, Mohamed Said

There were more than 100 reported pirate attacks in the busy shipping lanes off eastern and northern Somalia in 2008.

An international force headed by the US is due to be established by the end of the month to tackle the problem.

On Friday, Kenya's port authorities said a fishing vessel had been attacked and three Indian crew kidnapped, Reuters reported.

Pirates are still holding a Ukrainian cargo ship, the MV Faina, which was seized in late September carrying 33 tanks and other weaponry.

'Usual asking price'

"All our people have now left the Sirius Star. The ship is free, the crew is free," Mohamed Said, one of the leaders of the pirate group, told the AFP news agency.

The Kenyan-based East African Seafarers' Assistance programme said gunmen had disembarked from the tanker and that it was "steaming out to safe waters".


How do you pay a pirate's ransom?
On patrol with the pirate hunters
Life in a pirate town

Combined maritime forces patrolling off the Somali coast said only that the ship was expected to be on the move in the next 24 hours.

The release took place at midday, according to one of the negotiators for the Somali pirates, who spoke by phone to the BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan in the capital, Mogadishu.

The negotiator said the pirates had disembarked from the Sirius Star and were heading back to their homes in central Somalia, and the vessel's crew was safe.

The pirates agreed on Thursday night to accept a ransom of $3m from the ship's owners, although they had wanted more, he added.

The owner of the Sirius Star refused to confirm or deny any details when contacted by the BBC.

The Sirius Star was carrying $100m worth of oil- a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - when it was seized 450 nautical miles south-east of Kenya.

It was held near the Somali town of Harardhere.

One of the pirates, calling himself Daybad, told the BBC by telephone at the time of the seizure that they had no intention of harming the crew, which included Britons, Saudis, Poles, Croatians and Filipinos.

He admitted they were negotiating a ransom of "the usual asking price", but denied reports it was up to $25m (£16.6m).

And he blamed the lack of peace in Somalia and the plunder of its waters by foreign fishing trawlers for their move into piracy.

The ship's captain, Marek Nishky, was allowed to speak to the BBC under the scrutiny of his captors, and said there was "not a reason for complaints".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7820311.stm, 10 Jan 09

China readies for pirate patrols - 14

Three Chinese naval ships are preparing to set sail for waters off Somalia to protect Chinese vessels from pirate attacks there.

Two destroyers and a supply ship will leave the port of Sanya on Hainan island to join warships from other nations already patrolling the area.

It will be the Chinese navy's first operation beyond the Pacific.

There have been more than 100 pirate attacks this year off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.

On Thursday, the German navy said it had foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack an Egyptian cargo vessel off Somalia.

Six Somali pirates were captured by sailors of the frigate Karlsruhe in the Gulf of Aden. However, the pirates were immediately released on the orders of the German government, officials told the BBC.

'International scourge'

The three ships from China's South Sea Fleet are due to leave Sanya at 0530 GMT.



The fleet commander, Rear Adm Du Jingchen, said his personnel were prepared for a complicated and long-term mission.

"Acts of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters off Somalia have been increasingly rampant since the beginning of this year, posing a severe danger to the safety of ships and members from many countries, including China," China's Defence Ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said.

"Apart from this, pirates have also been threatening ships delivering humanitarian relief items to Somalia by international organisations. Piracy has become an international scourge."

The Chinese military says there have been seven attacks this year on Chinese vessels in the area.

It says its forces will board and inspect suspected pirate ships, try to rescue those who are attacked and mount a vigourous defence if they themselves come under attack.

However, defence ministry officials insist that China's doctrine of non-interference in other nations' affairs has not changed, the BBC's Chris Hogg in Beijing says.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7799899.stm, 26 Dec 2008

Navy head cool on Somalia strikes - 13

The top US naval commander in the Gulf and Indian Ocean has dampened hopes that piracy off Somalia's coast can be tackled by attacking bases on land.

Vice-Admiral Bill Gortney said that such a policy would be hampered by the difficulties of identifying the pirates and the risks of harming civilians.

He suggested shipping companies should instead employ armed security guards to protect their vessels from hijackings.

Adm Gortney was speaking on the first day of a conference on Gulf security.

The gathering in Bahrain is being attended by 25 countries and top military figures like US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

I see people trying to look for an easy military solution to a problem that demands a non-kinetic solution

Vice-Admiral Bill Gortney
US Fifth Fleet

The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq will also feature, as will the increasing concerns Arab Gulf states have about Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

Earlier, US naval officials hosted Afghan President Hamid Karzai on board the aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt, to assure him that the US military was taking all precautions to avoid civilian casualties while carrying out air strikes on his country.

'Collateral damage concerns'

The BBC's Frank Gardner in Manama says there seems to be no easy fix for the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Just as the US has been circulating a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for permission to "take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia", the Pentagon's top naval officer in the region has effectively said that is not the solution, our correspondent says.


Adm Gortney also rejected the idea of a naval blockade of Somalia's coast

Speaking at the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, Adm Gortney voiced doubts over the wisdom of attack the pirates' land bases because of the difficulties of identifying them and the potential risks of harming innocent civilians.

"I see people trying to look for an easy military solution to a problem that demands a non-kinetic solution," he told reporters.

"If you're going to do kinetic strikes into the pirate camps, the positive ID and the collateral damage concerns cannot be overestimated."

"They're irregulars - they don't wear uniforms," he added.

Adm Gortney said that the solution lay in bringing stability to Somalia, but that would not happen soon. In the meantime, shipping companies should employ armed guards on board ships, he said.

"I'm a firm believer... because that's what we'd do ashore," he said. "You're working against criminal activity. That's what I'm pushing."

Adm Gortney also rejected the idea of establishing a naval blockade of the Somali coast, saying it would be considered an act of war, and that the size of the coastline would require so many ships that "it would be very, very difficult".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7780981.stm, 13 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Expert: Piracy is symptom of cisis in Somalia - 12

Source: The Star, 08 Dec 2008

How do you pay a pirate's ransom? - 12

Pirates in Somalia are making a fortune by hijacking ships and demanding ransoms to set them and their crews free - one official estimates the total this year to be around $150m.

There are conflicting reports about how much they want for the Saudi oil tanker they seized last month, the Sirius Star, and its cargo of two million barrels of oil, but how do you negotiate and deliver a pirate ransom in the 21st Century?

The owner hires people to take the money... for the handover of the big bags of cash. Same like the movies.

Fahid Hassan, Harardhere

From what can be gleaned - how the negotiations run their course and how the ransoms are paid - what goes on would be worthy of a Hollywood action movie script.

"No matter what process is taken, they always go through a middleman," advises BBC Somali service analyst Said Musa. "And trust is at the heart of everything."

Fahid Hassan, who has experience of the negotiations, says that after boarding the ship, the first step for the pirates is to make contact with its owners.

"All the important documents are there on the ship, so the pirates can know easily all the information they need," he says.

"The talks are by telephone, mostly satellite phone but sometimes even SMS/text messages are sent. The pirates do not negotiate themselves. They hire someone and often this person is a relative; someone they can trust."


"For the Sirius Star, there are two negotiators. Sometimes they are on the ship, sometimes they are in town. The negotiator must work and work and work to get the money which is a very difficult job. It is very difficult to please the owner and please the pirates," he adds.

"But once the money is delivered the negotiator gets a share, the same as a pirate. Everyone on the ship gets an equal share."

Mr Hassan says that in the past, the ransom was delivered by money transfer, but that now owners hire a third party to hand over the money directly.

"They come onto the ship or the pirates get onto their boat for the handover of the bags of cash," he says.

"The men who bring the money then go; they leave the ship to let the pirates count and check. Some of the pirates have counting machines and also machines to detect fake notes."

Security firms

Roger Middleton, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Chatham House, says the ship-owners hire professionals, from specialist negotiators to private security firms, to transfer the ransoms.




'World only cares about pirates'
On patrol with the pirate hunters
Q&A: Somali piracy

"They are mostly ex-SAS and British or Australian. A lot are also South African," he says.

Not much more is known for certain, however, as it is an unwritten rule among members of such firms that there are no kiss-and-tell stories.

Understandably, those involved are also aware of the needs of their clients and the strict demand for secrecy with people's lives being at stake.

However, Mr Middleton says that such operations cost about $1m, not including the ransom.

"The professional negotiators get about $100,000 for their services and the lawyers get a fee of about $300,000," he explains.

Regarding what goes on behind closed doors, be it the negotiations and the legal and insurance matters as a result of these hijackings, Mr Middleton says it would be fair to say that, "most of it happens in London," he adds.



The EU's first ever naval mission will patrol the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden


Gavin Simmonds, head of international affairs at the British Chamber of Shipping, agrees this assumption is "highly likely" as London is the centre of the global maritime industry.

"It seems perfectly plausible that the actual facilitation of ransom money is being done by London-based insurers," he says.

However, Mr Simmonds says he has also heard rumours that some exchanges have taken place in Dubai.

Bags of cash

The pirates ask that the ransom is all in used dollar bills - normally $50 or $100 notes - according to those with experience of such negotiations.

Kenyan sailor Athman Said Mangore, who was held captive for more than 120 days by Somali pirates, says they are known to make many demands and put in place a number of restrictions.


Pirates have generally treated the crew they seize well - so they are paid

"They sometimes say they want $208,000 exactly in $100 bills only," he says.

"I don't know why they make those demands. They usually also don't like dollar bills that were printed in 2000 or the years before. If it was printed in 1999, they say: 'This is not fit to be used in our shop'," he adds.

Once the ship's owners have sourced cash, a private security firm takes over.

They then hire a tug boat, often from the Kenyan port of Mombasa, which they take further north up the coast towards Somali waters.

The security personnel then board the boat with the bags of cash and enough weaponry to keep it safe.

When the ransom has been paid, the pirates are left to count the money and are allowed to leave the vessel freely.

"The navies in the Somali waters of course must have a pretty good idea of what goes on, as they have spy drones and they are watching the hijacked vessels," Mr Middleton says.

"Whether there's any coordination between the ransom payers and the navies is unknown."

The BBC's Joseph Odhiambo in Mombasa says that on at least two prior occasions the ransom money was delivered to the hijacked vessels via air-drops.

He also says that other payments were flown from Wilson Airport in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, into Somalia on cargo planes transporting the stimulant, khat.

No-one knows how long it will be until the Sirius Star is set free, but it is fair to say the ransom negotiations will be both complicated and delicate, with its cargo believed to be worth $100m.

And the families of its 25 crew members, who are being held hostage, will be hoping that the pirates stay true to their word that they have no intention of harming them.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7752813.stm, 03 Dec 2008

(Newspaper) Hindustania set to rule the waves - Somali Privates - 11

Source: The Sun, 27 Nov 2008

(Newspaper) Germany to send 1400 troops to fight Somalia pirates - 10

Source: The Sun, 27 Nov 2008

Somali Islamists 'hunt pirates' - 9

Somali Islamist insurgents have begun searching for the pirates who hijacked a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker last Saturday, reports say.

A spokesman for the al-Shabab group, Abdelghafar Musa, said hijacking a Muslim-owned ship was a major crime and they would pursue those responsible.

The pirates are thought to be trying to obtain a multi-million dollar ransom.

The ship, the Sirius Star, is believed to be be anchored off the Somali port of Haradheere.

It has an international crew of 25 people and is carrying $100m (£67m) worth of crude oil.

'Show of force'

"We are really sorry to hear that the Saudi ship has been held in Somalia," Mr Musa told the Associated Press.



"We will fight them."

Reports said Islamist fighters had descended on Haradheere in an apparent show of force, saying they were looking for the pirates.

"The Islamists arrived searching for the pirates and the whereabouts of the Saudi ship," an unnamed elder in the port told Reuters news agency.

"I saw four cars full of Islamists driving in the town from corner to corner. The Islamists say they will attack the pirates for hijacking a Muslim ship."

Another report suggested local militia and Shebab fighters had arrived in Harardhere in a move to position themselves for a share of any spoils.

"There are many militiamen who have arrived in the town and they want to get a share from the pirates if the ransom is paid," Ahmed Abdullahi, a local elder, was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.

Meanwhile, Kenya reported on Friday that Somali pirates had been paid more than $150m (£101m) in ransoms in the past 12 months.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7743204.stm, 22 Nov 2008

Somali pirates demand 25 million dollars for Saudi oil tanker - 8

Somali pirates who hijacked a Saudi oil super-tanker demanded a 25 million dollar ransom Thursday amid calls for tougher action to end threats to one of the world's key maritime routes.

As global frustration built and a major shipping company ordered some of its vessels to avoid the Gulf of Aden, the pirates set a 10-day deadline for the ransom payment for the ship they easily seized in 16 minutes.

"We are demanding 25 million dollars (20 million euros) from the Saudi owners of the tanker. We do not want long-term discussions to resolve the matter," a pirate who identified himself as Mohamed Said said from the ship.

"The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous," Said told AFP from the ship now anchored at the Somali pirate lair of Harardhere, without elaborating.

Seized at the weekend in the Indian Ocean some 500 miles (800 kilometres) off the coast of Kenya, the Sirius Star tanker was loaded to capacity with two million barrels of oil and the biggest vessel to be seized by pirates so far.

Two speedboats with pirates armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-launchers seized the ship in 16 minutes on Saturday, according to a military report obtained by AFP.

The report also described the Sirius Star -- with woeful defences, restricted manoeuvrability and speed capacities owing to its 319,000-tonne oil cargo -- as a lumbering prey for two speedboats carrying well-armed pirates.

The US, meanwhile, said it would be seeking support in the United Nations for a resolution to tighten international measures against Somali pirates.

Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo said the new text would "extend the authorities" set out in an earlier resolution adopted in June.

The previous text called on nations possessing warships in the Gulf of Aden to help hunt down pirates with the agreement of the Somali government.

After the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) described the situation as "out of control," Arab Red Sea states meeting in Cairo Thursday pledged cooperation to end the threat -- but offered few specifics.

Russia announced it would send more warships to combat piracy in the treacherous waters.

Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, the top commander of the Russian navy, said: "After the Neustrashimy (Fearless), ships from other fleets of the Russian navy will head to the region," referring to a frigate sent to the area in September.

Russia's ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, meanwhile called for an international ground military operation in the region to crush piracy, to boost sea patrols that are yielding thin results.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged the world to firmly fight the "scourge of hostage taking."

In a sign of the havoc being wreaked by the pirates, one of the world's largest shipping companies, Danish group A.P. Moller-Maersk, ordered some of its vessels to avoid the Gulf of Aden. Other companies are weighing similar options.

"Vessels without adequate speed or freeboard will for the time being avoid the Gulf of Aden and seek alternative routing south of the Cape of Good Hope and east of Madagascar," the company said.

Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein warned that piracy will rage unless the world helps restore a functional government in Somalia, which collapsed after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Wednesday that the super-tanker's owners were in talks with the pirates, but the company that operates the vessel has remained tight-lipped about the claims of negotiations.

At the Cairo talks, foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said Egypt would consider all possibilities. Egypt's economy heavily relies on revenue from tourism and maritime traffic through the Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

The Indian stealth frigate INS Tabar, one of dozens of warships from several countries protecting commercial shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, sank a Somali pirate ship Tuesday after coming under fire, navy spokesman Nirad Sinha said.

Pirates use mother ships, generally hijacked trawlers or deep-sea dhows, to tow speedboats from which they launch their attacks.

The incident came as shipping groups reported a new surge in hijackings off Somalia, with three captured since the Sirius Star was taken.

Noel Choong, head of the piracy reporting centre at the IMB in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, said "the situation is already out of control," but praised the Indian navy for striking the mother ship.

Source: http://news.my.msn.com/topstories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1795779, 21 Nov 2008

"We hope more navies will follow suit and stop suspected pirate boats," he added.

Choong however said that destroying pirate ships or confiscating equipment "is not the whole answer, as it is not a deterrent... it is just to disrupt their operations. What is needed is firm action and a firm deterrent ..."

India 'sinks Somali pirate ship' - 7

The Indian navy has said that one of its warships in the Gulf of Aden has destroyed a ship belonging to pirates operating off the coast of Somalia.

The INS Tabar opened fire on a pirate "mother ship" after it came under attack, a government statement said.

There has been a surge in piracy incidents off Somalia.

The Saudi-owned Sirius Star supertanker is currently anchored off the Somali coast after the vessel and its 25 crew were seized by pirates.

Vela International, operators of the Sirius Star, told the BBC no demands had yet been received from the pirates. The company also said all the crew were safe.

The biggest tanker ever hijacked, Sirius Star is carrying a cargo of two million barrels - a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - worth more than $100m (£67m).

Explosions

India is among several countries are already patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored in the vessel

Indian naval statement

The Indian navy said the Tabar spotted a pirate vessel while patrolling 285 nautical miles (528km) south-west of Salalah in Oman, on Tuesday evening.

When it demanded the vessel stop for investigation, the pirate ship responded by threatening to "blow up the naval warship if it closed on her", the statement said.

The navy said the pirates on board were armed with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers. They threatened to blow up the INS Tabar and then fired on it.

The Indians say they retaliated by opening fire and that there was an explosion on the pirate vessel, which sank.

"Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored in the vessel," the Indian navy said.

Some of the pirates tried to escape on two speedboats - the Indian sailors gave chase but one boat was later found abandoned, while a second boat escaped.

The Tabar has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden since 23 October, and has escorted 35 ships safely during the "pirate-infested waters", the statement said.

Last week, an helicopter-borne Indian marine commandos stopped pirates from boarding and hijacking an Indian merchant vessel.

Ransoms

On Tuesday, a cargo ship and a fishing vessel became the latest to join more than 90 civilian vessels attacked by the pirates this year. THE SIRIUS STAR

Carrying 2m barrels of oil
Biggest vessel to be hijacked


'I thought pirates would kill me'
Somali piracy: Your stories
UK hands over pirate suspects
Pirates pass open water test

A 25-crew cargo vessel transporting wheat to Iran was attacked in the Gulf of Aden while contact was lost with the crew of 12 on the fishing boat.

Piracy in the area is estimated to have cost up to $30m in ransoms so far this year, according to a recent report by a UK think-tank.

The pirates who seized the Sirius Star are a sophisticated group with contacts in Dubai and neighbouring countries, says the BBC Somali Service's Yusuf Garaad.

Much of their ransom money from previous hijackings has been used to buy new boats and weapons as well as develop a network across the Horn of Africa, he adds.

The hijackings off the coast of East Africa and the Gulf of Aden - an area of more than 1m sq miles (2.6m sq km) - make up one-third of all global piracy incidents this year, according the International Maritime Board.

Somalia has not had a functioning national government since 1991 and has suffered continuing civil strife.

Shipping companies are now weighing up the risks of using the short-cut route to Europe via the Suez canal.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7736885.stm, 19 Nov 2008

Hijacked oil tanker nears Somalia - 5

A giant Saudi oil tanker seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean is nearing the coast of Somalia, the US Navy says.

The Sirius Star is the biggest tanker ever to be hijacked, with a cargo of 2m barrels - a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - worth more than $100m.

The vessel was captured in what the navy called an "unprecedented" attack 450 nautical miles (830km) off the Kenyan coast on Saturday.

Its international crew of 25, including two Britons, is said to be safe.

The ship's operator, Vela International, said a response team had been mobilised to work towards ensuring the safe release of vessel and crew.


The hijacking was highly unusual both in terms of the size of the ship and the fact it was attacked so far south of Somalia, says BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.

The seizure points to the inability of a multi-national naval task force sent to the region earlier this year to stop Somali piracy, he says.

The US Fifth Fleet said the supertanker was "nearing an anchorage point" at Eyl, a port often used by pirates based in Somalia's Puntland region.

Adm Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the pirates involved were well trained.

"Once they get to a point where they can board, it becomes very difficult to get them off, because, clearly, now they hold hostages," he told a Pentagon briefing in Washington.

Oil price rises

Hijackings off the coast of East Africa and the Gulf of Aden - an area of more than 1m sq miles - make up one-third of all global piracy incidents this year, according the International Maritime Bureau.

THE SIRIUS STAR

Length of a US aircraft carrier
Can carry 2m barrels of oil
Biggest vessel to be hijacked


Life in Somalia's pirate town
From cutlass to AK-47

They are usually resolved peacefully through negotiations for ransom but, given the value of the cargo in this instance, a military response has not been ruled out, our correspondent says.

At least 12 vessels - including the Ukrainian freighter MV Faina carrying 33 tanks and other military hardware, which was seized in September - remain captive and under negotiation with around 250 crew being held hostage.

This month alone, pirates have seized a Japanese cargo ship off Somalia, a Chinese fishing boat off Kenya and a Turkish ship transporting chemicals off Yemen.

War-torn Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 and the anarchy on land has spread to the high seas in recent years.

The South Korean-built Sirius Star was seized as it headed for the US via the southern tip of Africa, prompting a rise in crude oil prices on global markets.

The route around the Cape of Good Hope is a main thoroughfare for fully-laden supertankers from the Gulf.

With a capacity of 318,000 dead weight tonnes, the ship is 330m (1,080ft) long - about the length of a US aircraft carrier.

Owned by the Saudi company Aramco, it made its maiden voyage in March.

As well as the two Britons, the ship's crew members are said to be from Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7734733.stm, 18 Nov 2008

Somali pirates 'seize cargo ship' - 4

South Korean officials say gunmen have hijacked a Japanese cargo ship off the coast of Somalia carrying 23 crew including five South Koreans.

The ship was seized in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, officials said.

The condition of the crew is not known and it is not clear if the pirates are demanding a ransom.

So far this year, Somali pirates have seized more than 30 vessels, making the shipping lanes through the Gulf of Aden the most dangerous in the world.

A South Korean foreign ministry official said the 23 abducted sailors included Filipinos as well as the five South Koreans.

Last Wednesday, the Russian navy said Russian and British ships had repelled a pirate attack on a Danish ship in waters off Somalia.

Tanker seized

Hours earlier, pirates had seized a Turkish chemical tanker off the coast of Yemen, along with its 14-member Turkish crew.

And last Monday Somali pirates hijacked another chemical tanker with 21 Filipino crew on board.

Pirates are still holding the Ukrainian ship MV Faina off the Somali coast for a ransom of $20m (£12m).

In October, 22 sailors - eight South Koreans and 14 Burmese - were freed after a month of captivity when their South Korean shipping company paid a ransom to Somali pirates.

South Korea has said it is considering sending navy vessels to waters off Somalia to protect its shipping.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7731920.stm

Somali's Prirates - 3

Filipinos held by Somali pirates

A chemical tanker with at least 21 Filipino crew members on board has been hijacked by Somali pirates, according to maritime officials.

The ship was in the Gulf of Aden, en route to Asia, when it was seized on Monday afternoon.

There have been dozens of attacks and hijackings in the region this year, making it one of the most dangerous sea lanes in the world.

The EU is launching an anti-piracy security operation in the area.


Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7721445.stm, 11 Nov 2008

(Newspaper) Somali's Pirates - 2

Source : Sin Chew Jit Poh, 29 Sept 2008

(Newspaper) Somali's Pirates - 1

Source : The Star, 29 Sept 2008