The Saudi Royal Family condemned Somali pirates as terrorists today after losing $100 million worth of oil in an audacious heist that saw bandits seize a supertanker in the Arabian Sea.
The Sirius Star, which was carrying two million barrels of oil, a quarter of the Kingdom's daily output, was captured with its multi-national crew, including two Britons, 450 miles off the coast of Kenya on Sunday.
The hijack was the biggest ever act of piracy in the perilous shipping lanes off the east coast of Africa. Vela International, the ship’s owners, said today that the crew were safe and that their response team was awaiting further contact with the gang.
The furious Saudi foreign minister said the banditry was akin to terrorism and demanded an international crackdown on the pirates.
Yes, just what we need, more international action, taken in tandem with an extremist Muslim nation.
And yes, these "Pirates" certainly are audacious.
Look at all the stories of piracy circling today:
HONG KONG CARGO SHIP HIJACKED BY PIRATES... DEVELOPING...
Ay, matey.
Danish oil ship briefly seized off Nigeria... Developing...
PIRATES CAPTURE SUPERTANKER WITH $100 MILLION CARGO...
Open negotiations...
Saudis brand pirates 'terrorists' ...call for international action
US Admiral 'stunned' by pirates' reach...
Reliapundit sent me an email questioning whether it is possible that some of these "piracy" operations might be the work of the CIA, a way to give them a cloak for boarding and inspecting certain suspect ships in international waters.
That could be.
Personally, as the piracy has increased in recent weeks, I've been wondering if, perhaps, these pirates are like "Contraband launderers" or Illegal Customs Agents, who check cargo while it's out at sea, by seizing it, making payment, and then delivering it to its intended destination;
Al Qaeda in Africa.
Think about it this way. In recent weeks, we have seen a ship containing apparent nuclear materials from Iran seized by "Pirates" and then disappear. And now, a Saudi ship containing the proverbial boatload of oil, seized.
Will it disappear?
Or, will something actually be done about it?
Stay tuned.
I posted a different angle on this same subject today. Based on a website I stumbled upon. Iranians?
ReplyDeletehttp://thebigfeed.blogspot.com/2008/11/are-iranians-behind-somali-pirate.html
Very interesting, and I would be inclined to believe it, if I could figure out why Iran would have their "pirates' hijack their own ship; the one containing nuclear material.
ReplyDeleteWell, it turned out not to have anything unusual on that ship. It ended up porting somewhere in Europe and that was confirmed. And frankly, if they are backing these pirates, paying ransom to themselves would be no great shakes.
ReplyDeleteMaybe. Maybe I didn't think it through clearly enough.
ReplyDeletebut, let's put it this way; does it make sense that a boatload of pirates are able to take over a supertanker worth several hundred millions of dollars, and get away with it?
No, I don't think so.
So, what if the pirates are taking the cargo and delivering it for the Saudis/Iranians.
for instance, say AQ wants to buy some oil at a lower than market rate, and Saudi wants to supply it. So, the "pirates" board the ship, take the oil, collect a ransom, and no one is the wiser.
Even more dangerous when the cargo is nuclear.
By the way, you say that that Iranian ship ported in Europe without anything unusual on it. So, couldn't the unusual cargo have been removed?
And, if there wasn't anything unusual, then why were the "pirates" hair falling out, and why did they have skin burns, and why did so many of them die?