Somali Pirates 1, Saudi Cowards 0

January 9, 2009 · 26 Comments

by AARON ALTMAN

Just one day after the U.S. announced it would lead a game of “Battleship” against the dreaded yet PR-savvy Somali pirates, the owners of a Saudi oil tanker – which was held for ransom for more than two months – caved in and paid $3 million so they could get their boat back.

The supertanker, about the length of an American Nimitz class aircraft carrier, was the largest ship known to have been seized by pirates, and it was fully loaded with two million barrels of oil.

The pirates were due to leave the ship after the money, paid by the ship’s owners, was received by the pirates on Friday, according to the pirates and residents, who later said that the ship had moved away from the coast where it had been anchored since November.

The pirates had asked for $25 million, but only got $3 million… which means the ship will be hijacked approximately 7.3 more times.

(Pirates Free Tanker After Ransom – NY Times)

Categories: Aaron Altman

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