Somali pirates reportedly release Saudi tanker

[unhappycamper]

A small aircraft approaches the supertanker Sirius Star on Friday as the ship sits at anchor off the Somali coast.


Somali pirates reportedly release Saudi tanker
By Mohamed Olad Hassan - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jan 9, 2009 13:49:54 EST

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali pirates released an oil-laden Saudi supertanker after receiving a $3 million ransom, a negotiator for the bandits said Friday.

A U.S. Navy photo of a parachute carrying a package to the deck of the ship appeared to show the ransom drop from a small aircraft.

The MV Sirius Star, a brand new tanker with a 25-member crew, was seized in the Indian Ocean Nov. 15 in a dramatic escalation of the high seas piracy that has plagued the shipping lanes off Somalia.

Mohamed Said, a negotiator with the pirates that held the Saudi tanker, told The Associated Press by telephone the ship had been released and was traveling to “safe waters.”

The ship owner, Vela International Marine Ltd., declined comment on the claim Friday.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_somali_pirates_saudi_tanker_010909w/%2e