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 Pirate fears push ships via Cape
    November 19 2008 at 06:46AM Get IOL on your
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London - More of the world's big shipping firms are quietly diverting their fleets around the Cape of Good Hope instead of risking the hijacking of their vessels by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, a senior industry executive has disclosed.

Rob Lomas, secretary-general of Intercargo, an industry group representing shipowners hauling dry commodities, said more firms were avoiding the Suez Canal.

He said, however, that there was no "stampede" to use the Cape route.

Meanwhile, the Saudi supertanker seized by pirates with a $100-million (about R1-billion) oil cargo in the world's biggest ship hijacking has reached Somalia, while a cargo ship loaded with wheat bound for Iran has been captured in the Gulf of Aden.
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The Hong Kong cargo ship loaded with 36 000 tons of grain has 25 crew members.

The United States Navy said pirates had taken the Sirius Star - seized 450 nautical miles southeast of Kenya at the weekend in the boldest strike yet by Somali pirates - to Haradheere port, halfway up Somalia's long coastline.

The tanker's operator, Vela International, shipping arm of oil giant Saudi Aramco, said it was believed the 25-man crew was safe.

The Sirius Star, the size of three soccer fields, is the largest vessel yet seized by pirates. It had been hijacked further out to sea than any of the other vessels seized by Somali pirates, the US Navy said.

Shipping experts said the pirates had shown that few ships sailing the Indian Ocean were safe.

A spokesperson for the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet said the Sirius Star was believed to be heading towards the Somali port of Eyl.

"There is no information yet about the pirates' demands."

The US Navy's operations chief, Admiral Michael Mullen, said he was "stunned" by the Somali pirates' range and the size of the vessel seized. "(The pirates) are very good at what they do. They're well armed. Tactically, they are good," Mullen said.

Meanwhile, the British Navy said it had handed over to the Kenyan authorities eight suspected pirates captured in a clash a week earlier.

Pirates are well organised in the area where Somalia's northeastern tip juts into the Indian Ocean, preying on a key maritime route leading to the Suez Canal, through which an estimated 30 percent of the world's oil is transported.

The pirates use high-powered speedboats and are well armed, sometimes holding ships for weeks until they are released for large ransoms paid by governments or owners.

"This (hijacking was) incredibly far from Somalia," said Roger Middleton, consultant researcher for think-tank Chatham House in London.

"It puts a huge ring around Somalia where it isn't safe for international shipping."

The pirates were able to operate in deep water, "so they're a needle in a haystack", Nick Davis, head of Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions in Britain, said.

He said even a vessel the size of the Sirius Star was a fairly easy target for pirates operating from a mother ship.

The pirates approach the ship from the stern with two or three speedboats that far outpace their prey, throw grappling hooks tied to rope ladders on to the deck, and then board.

The International Maritime Bureau has reported that at least 83 ships have been attacked off Somalia since January. Thirty-three of them were hijacked and, of these, 12 vessels and more than 200 crew members remain in the hands of pirates.

Last week, the European Union launched a security operation off the coast of Somalia to combat the growing threat from piracy and to protect ships carrying aid agency deliveries.

The naval mission is the EU's first. Dubbed Operation Atlanta and endorsed by the EU's defence ministers at talks in Brussels, it is being led by Britain and has its headquarters in Northwood, near London. - Sapa-AFP

    • This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Times on November 19, 2008
Showing page 1 of 1 comment pages, 7 total comments
52 Weeks ago Aubrey wrote :
This problem will never get sorted out. The problem is navies hands are tied with intl. law. How is it possible to win wars , piracy etc if we have to adhere to the rules of engagement. these terrorists do not play by the rules. I say scrap the rules if your opponent discards the rules. Look at the war on terror. The US and its allies could of won the war on terror if they fought as the terrorists fight. but they are bound by intl. law. The world is in a downward spiral because too much emphasis is placed on the terrorists, criminals rights. I beleive if you break the accepted intl, law you give up your rights. Use these powerful navies for what they were intended.
52 Weeks ago Kung Pow wrote :
I'm talking bout the ninja's!
52 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Well, so much for keeping it quiet. Let's hope the pirates don't read IOL! :)
52 Weeks ago Kung Pow wrote :
yes I agree, they can appear suddenly and rid the world of this filth and then "poof!" disappear again into the night!
52 Weeks ago Marc wrote :
I can think of no other more deserving opportunity for navies needing live targets than deploying (ah, at last the correct use of the word) units to the Somali coastline. Nothing more satisfying than sending some "pirate" vessel to Davey Jone's locker with a 40mm Oerlikon gun (let's face it, you won't need more). No mercy to be shown and great opportunities for movies too.
52 Weeks ago Shinobi wrote :
Who is the greatest enemy of pirates? Ninjas!!! Shipping companies need to employ Ninja as protection against the pirates. Everyone knows that Ninjas are superior in every aspect to pirates.
52 Weeks ago GuyverXT9 wrote :
Arrrrrrrr!!! Me matey!!!

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