MOGADISHU (AlArabiya.net, AFP)
Somali pirates holding an oil-laden Saudi super-tanker for a $25 million dollar ransom said they will fight back should any military intervention to free the ship be attempted, a member of the pirate group said Saturday.
"I hope the owner of the tanker is wise enough and won't allow any military option because that would be disastrous for everybody. We are here to defend the tanker if attacked," Abdiyare Moalim told AFP.
" I hope the owner of the tanker is wise enough and won't allow any military option because that would be disastrous for everybody. We are here to defend the tanker if attacked. " Pirate Speaking from the coastal village and pirate stronghold of Harardhere, off which the Sirius Star is anchored, he said he was one of the pirates on shore tasked with organizing militias protecting the area as foreign navies sent warships to Somalia's dangerous waters and shipping companies sought alternative routes.
A local fisherman told AFP that reinforcements of at least 10 well-armed men had joined the pirates holding the ship and its 25-strong crew.
"Early this morning, I saw at least 10 heavily armed pirates heading to the ship. Their boat returned after dropping them off," Hassan Ahmed said.
Local militia and hardline Shebab fighters also arrived in Harardhere in what some residents said was a move to position themselves for a share of any ransom paid. |
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Ransom The Sirius Star, the biggest ship ever hijacked, and its 100 million dollar load of oil was seized last Saturday and taken to Harardhere, 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of lawless Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
The pirates on Thursday gave the owners 10 days to pay a $25 million dollar (20 million euros) ransom, said a pirate who identified himself as Mohamed Said, threatening "disastrous" consequences if Vela International, shipping arm of the Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco, fail to comply.
"The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous," he said.
He did not specify the threatened action but the 330-meter (1,000-foot) long tanker is carrying two million barrels of crude oil.
Environmental groups have warned of a huge catastrophe if oil from the super-tanker was released. |
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Threat to trade " "Like terrorism, it is an evil that has to be eradicated " Saudi FM Saud With close to 100 attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean this year, the pirates now pose a growing threat to international trade.
Piracy is also jeopardizing traffic heading to and from the Suez Canal, a strategic shipping route and key earner for Egypt's economy.
Some shipping companies have announced they will reroute shipping via South Africa's Cape of Good Hope instead of through the Suez Canal.
Egypt counts on the waterway as an important source of revenue, but emerged empty-handed after hosting an emergency meeting on Friday for Arab Red Sea states to discuss the threat.
The United States said it would seek support at the United Nations for a resolution to tighten international measures against Somali pirates.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said he was opposed to any negotiations with pirates.
"Like terrorism, it is an evil that has to be eradicated," Prince Saud told reporters in Oslo.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said Somali pirates had been paid 150 million dollars in ransom over the past 12 months, adding that this was fueling a global criminal enterprise.
"We are advised that in the last 12 months, ransom to the excess of $150 million has been paid to these criminals and that is why they are becoming more and more audacious in their activities," Wetangula said.
The Indian 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. |
