Somali pirates seize Saudi oil tanker
November 17, 2008 by SwizStick
Filed under Seafreight, Security
According to news reports, it is the largest vessel the pirates have ever seized as well as the furthest out to sea they have successfully struck. It’s all over the news, but I’ll leave you with this report from the International Herald Tribune:
The tanker, owned by the Saudi oil company Aramco, is 330 meters, or about 1,100 feet, long, or the length of an aircraft carrier, and can carry about 2 million barrels of oil. Fully loaded, the ship’s cargo could be worth about $100 million. But the pirates would have no way of selling the oil or refining it in Somalia.
Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, said the Sirius Star was carrying crude at the time of the hijacking, but he did not know how much.
There were no reports of damage to the ship, Christensen said. He declined to say if the U.S. Navy was considering taking action to rescue the tanker.
The ship was sailing under a Liberian flag and its 25-member crew includes citizens of Croatia, Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia. A British Foreign Office spokesman said there were at least two British nationals aboard the vessel.
The Sirius Star was attacked more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya, the U.S. 5th Fleet said. The capturing of the oil tanker represents a “fundamental shift in the ability of pirates to be able to attack merchant vessels,” Christensen said.
I wonder what the Saudi response to this will be. As usual, EagleSpeak has much, much more. He notes that according to one report, that he links to, that
the ship was not bound through the Gulf of Aden but was headed around the Cape of Good Hope and was nabbed 450 miles off the coast of Kenya. These are somewhat remarkable developments, as is the capture of such a large vessel.
He has lots more on the recent developments of Somalia piracy here:
Somalia Pirates: New south Somalia group?
And in what could be a damaging development for the Suez canal and worldwide shipping in general:
Somali Pirates: Shipping Company Will Avoid Gulf of Aden
100% Cargo Screening – Where Do the Presidential Candidates Stand?
We’ve posted quite a bit on the government’s proposed mandate to screen 100% of cargo into the US here, here, and here.
My colleague and I have had many conversations regarding the proposed mandate and both agree that not only will it be a gargantuan task, but it is also a bit impractical. Obviously the security of our ports and airports should absolutely be a major national security priority, but why not take a logical approach to the situation? Take for instance a large retail importer in the United States; they import the same goods from the same supplier month after month, year after year. Does this importer pose a significant security risk? If that same importer suddenly moves manufacturing to a new location or to a new supplier, then by all means screen the cargo.
So where do our two presidential candidates stand on the issue? According to newsday.com, here are the comparisons:
Barack Obama
Obama says he is for screening and scanning all cargo entering U.S. ports. His position papers says he “has voted for efforts to mandate screening for all inbound cargo to the U.S.”
John McCain
As one example of a specific issue difference, McCain indicates he is not for screening and scanning all cargo, but would do it based on an assessment of the risk of the cargo.
Where do you stand on the issue? Drop us a comment and let us know.
Strategy Page on Somali Piracy
James Dunnigan over at Strategy Page has a thoughtful and informative, if somewhat depressing, post on the anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. Read the whole thing, well worth your time, but I’ll leave you with this excerpt:
For the last century, however, order was imposed, first by colonial governments, and then by post-colonial dictators. But Somali dictators have been unable to maintain their rule over the entire region known as “Somalia.” A government of sorts was always found in some of the coastal towns, which enabled trade with the outside world. But this has been threatened by the recent growth of piracy. Some warlords are taking over coastal villages and running piracy operations from them. Local fishermen eagerly join these gangs, seeing the possibility of a huge payday. This is all possible because of the current anarchy.In the past, piracy was suppressed by foreign navies destroying the towns of villages the pirates used as bases. This is no longer politically acceptable, and no one is yet willing to send troops ashore to fight the warlords who created and maintain the pirate operations. The nations with the military forces able to go into Somalia (like the U.S., Britain and France) are well aware of the region’s history, and the willingness of the Somalis to just keep fighting.
Another nation is sending their own warship to the region to combat piracy: Russia. Strategy Page’s take:
Everyone is curious to see how the Russians will deal with the pirates. The Russians often go Old School in cases like this.
Netherlands’ economy at risk due to rising cargo theft at Schiphol, says TAPA
Cargo theft in and of itself is a serious problem, but this is the first I’ve seen where an organization warns of impending loss to a nation’s economy because of it. The Netherlands’ economy has a lot invested in its distribution activities, where many leading companies distribute throughout Europe from bases in The Netherlands. According to this article in Air Cargo World, the European arm of TAPA warns that that economy is in trouble if something isn’t done to stem the increase in cargo theft:
The association says the number of reported incidents has risen from 98 in 2005 to 405 last year including a number of armed hijacks and burglaries around Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. Speaking at a one-day conference of Dutch officials and business leaders, David Reid, Acting Chairman of TAPA EMEA, warned that without swift action companies will relocate their distribution activities to other countries.
“There is no question that the Dutch economy will suffer if major businesses take their business elsewhere. No single party involved in tackling crime can succeed on its own. The police need the support of both government and industry to attack the root cause of cargo crime and we are extremely encouraged by the positive reaction to our initiative.”
