Current Articles & News v.2

Here are links to current articles and new releases regarding the crisis of international hijacking by pirates (terrorists).

Learning with the Times: Kandla infamous for pirates attacking anchored ships According to the Geneva Convention, any illegal act of violence, detention or damage committed by the crew of a private ship directed against another ship on the high seas is piracy. A government ship cannot be called a pirate ship, unless its crew has mutinied. Most of these activities take place in international waters, which are not included in the territorial limits or as the internal waters of any country and hence are not actively patrolled in most cases. (The Times of India, 11/24/2008)

Saudi Arabia to Join NATO Naval Mission; Pirates Boost Defenses Saudi Arabia said it will join a fleet of NATO warships on an anti-piracy mission, as hijackers bolstered defenses around an oil-laden Saudi tanker captured off the East African coast. The kingdom will contribute "naval assets to help in pursuing piracy in the region, and this is the only way this can be dealt with," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters in Oslo today after meeting with his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Stoere. "Negotiations and ransoms only encourage piracy and are not a solution." (Bloomberg 11/21/2008)

Islamists on trail of Somali pirates Dozens of Somali Islamist insurgents stormed a port on Friday hunting the pirates behind the seizure of a Saudi supertanker that was the world's biggest hijack, a local elder said. Separately, police in the capital Mogadishu said they had ambushed and shot dead 17 Islamist militants, in the latest illustration of the chaos in the Horn of Africa country that has fueled a dramatic surge in piracy. (Reuters, 11/21/2008)

Fear of piracy blocks global trade route for shipping giant Maersk The global economy suffered a new blow yesterday as Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, announced that it would no longer put its tankers at the mercy of pirates off Somalia. Maersk’s decision to stop plying the route through the perilous waters came as pirates on board the super-tanker Sirius Star issued a $25 million (£17 million) ransom demand, with a warning of “disastrous” consequences if the money were not paid. (TimesOnline, 11/21/2008)

Pirates bolster defenses around hijacked tanker Somali pirates are building up their defences around a captured Saudi Arabian super-tanker after demanding a $25 million ransom for the ship and its huge cargo of crude oil. As foreign warships steam into the area and shipping companies work out alternative routes for their vessels, extra militiamen and other fighters are being brought into the pirate lair of Harardhere. “Some of them are inside the town and others are taking shelter in a nearby village and can be called if need be,” Mohamed Awale, a local resident, told AFP. He said the fighters had come from the neighbouring Gulgudud and Mudug regions. They were not the only arrivals in the town. Islamist militiamen and hardline Shebab fighters were also pouring into the town, although it was unclear whether they were angered by the capture of a Saudi boat or simply wanted their share of the loot. (Time Online, 11/21/2008)

Pirates Demand $25 Million Ransom for Hijacked Tanker (Update1) Somali pirates demanded $25 million in ransom for an oil-laden Saudi supertanker seized off the East African coast, and called on its owners to pay up "soon". "What we want for this ship is only $25 million because we always charge according to the quality of the ship and the value of the product," a man who identified himself as Abdi Salan, a member of the hijacking gang, said in a telephone interview yesterday from Harardhare. (Bloomberg 11/21/2008)

India to chase pirates into Somali waters Finally armed with the green signal to undertake 'hot pursuit' of pirates even into the territorial waters of Somalia, India is now dispatching a much more powerful warship to the Gulf of Aden. Sources said a 6,900-tonne Delhi-class destroyer, the largest warship in Navy's combat fleet after aircraft carrier INS Viraat, will be leaving for the Gulf of Aden in the next few days. (Times of India, 11/21/2008)

Egypt hosts Arab piracy meeting Egypt has held a meeting of six Arab countries in an attempt to forge a joint strategy against piracy in the Gulf of Aden, which threatens the international trade route through Egypt's Suez Canal. The countries represented in the meeting on Thursday were those who share the Red Sea with Egypt - Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Jordan. (Aljazeera 11/20/2008)

'Toxic waste' behind Somali piracy Somali pirates have accused European firms of dumping toxic waste off the Somali coast and are demanding an $8m ransom for the return of a Ukranian ship they captured, saying the money will go towards cleaning up the waste. (Aljazeera 10/11/2008)