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Six pirates drowned leaving supertanker
SIX Somalian pirates have drowned on leaving freed Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star nearly two months after it was captured off the east African coast, their leader said today. "Six of our boys perished at the sea while coming from the released Saudi supertanker" Mohamed Said said.
"The small boat that was carrying those killed and eight who survived was overloaded and at high speed as we are told by the survivors; they were afraid of a chase from outsiders (foreign navies of the Combined Maritime Forces) who invaded Somalia waters," he said. Part of the $US300,000 ($420,600) ransom paid to free the tanker had also been on the boat and was now missing. Haradhere resident Mohamud Aden said the capsize was an accident. "The pirates were full of joy and partially frightened by the presence of foreign war machines and overspeeding," he said. "That was a tragedy for the pirates." The 330m Sirius Star, owned by the shipping arm of oil giant Saudi Aramco, was seized far off the east African coast on November 15, in what was the pirates' most daring attack and largest catch to date. It was still moored off Harardhere today. The amount of the ransom paid for the ship's release was not known. Pirates had earlier said days after seizing the tanker they wanted $US25 million ($35 million) for its release. Sources close to the negotiations said $US3 million ($4 million) were delivered to the pirate group onshore on Thursday. A dispute briefly erupted between the pirates over how the ransom money should be distributed. Posted by: tipper 2009-01-10 |
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