Sirius Star: Five pirates drowned with their share

Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked, oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3m (£1.96m) ransom after their small boat capsized, local sources said today. The boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star, following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden, that ended yesterday. He said five people died and three people reached the shore after swimming for several hours.

Sirius Star: Combined Maritime Forces photos

Sirius Star sees pirate big fishes

The pirate big fishes left Harardhere on Thursday afternoon to the Sirius Star ship to get the ransom money and to set free the ship. The money had been paid in Kenya and reached the Somali pirates on a boat from Mombassa, Kenya.

Sirius Star Released, $US3m Paid to Pirates

The professional negotiators, acting on behalf of the ship owners, get about $100,000 for their services and the lawyers receive a fee of about $300,000 for ensuring that the shipping companies are not putting themselves in any dubious positions.
Regarding what goes on behind closed doors, be it the negotiations and the legal and insurance matters as a result of these hijackings, it would be fair to say that most of it happens in London.

Piracy off Somalia to get worse

C-SPAN watch

Panelists talked about recent attacks on international commerce in the Gulf of Aden and increased threats to trade by piracy. Among the topics they addressed were a growing threat posed by Somali pirates, the impact on political stability and maritime security of the seizure of ships and cargo, and potential responses by the international community to the problem.

Owners of Sirius Star are the final arbiters of what happens

The pirates are expected to table an opening demand for the return of Vela-operated very large crude carrier Sirius Star in the order of $20-50m, before finally settling for $5m-$10m. Somalian pirate interests could have already demanded a ransom of $25m, giving a 10-day deadline for payment.
According to the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, "I know the owners of the tanker are negotiating on the issue. We do not like to negotiate with terrorists or hijackers. But the owners of the tanker, they are the final arbiters of what happens there."
A previously captured fishing boat being used by pirates as a base to launch their speedboats far out to sea was destroyed by INS frigate Tabar. Two speedboats escaped.

Provisions for Sirius Star

Haradhere beach
Somali businessmen are sending food, cigarettes and drinks to a hijacked Saudi supertanker. Fisherman Hassan Jimale says he saw three boats make return trips to the supertanker overnight.

Liberian-flag Sirius Star seized by pirates

The U.S. Navy says pirates who seized a Saudi-owned oil supertanker are taking the ship to a Somali port where hijacked vessels are often held.

Navy spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen of the U.S. 5th Fleet says the pirates holding the MV Sirius Star are "nearing an anchorage point" of the town of Eyl. The port has become a haven for pirates and a number of other ships are still being held there. Sirius Star has been freed, some say. The VLCC is three times the size of a U.S. aircraft carrier. The vessel had been headed for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. The Saudi Aramco VLCC MV Sirius Star is one of six very large tankers owned by Vela International Marine and built in South Korea, and registered in Liberia. Vela International Marine Limited is one of the largest crude oil tanker companies in the world and is a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). Vela currently owns and operates a modern fleet of 19 Very Large Crude Oil Carriers (VLCCs) and five product tankers of various sizes and also serves as charterer for all of Saudi Aramco"s CIF and ex-ship crude oil and product deliveries worldwide.


Vela’s owned and chartered VLCCs conduct trade primarily between the Middle East, Europe and the United States Gulf Coast. Vela"s owned and chartered product tankers operate exclusively in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coastal trade. Vela is committed to continue building and operating the most modern, high-quality tankers in the world.