The Sirius Star

The Sirius Star

[update: 26112008] Malaysiakini reported International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said Indian navy destroyed Thai fishing boat which has been seized by pirates and not "Mother Ships" but Indian news maintained they fired the vessel to self-defence and it was load with pirates.

95 ships have been hijacked so far off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden with 39 hijacked and 16 still held with more than 300 crew abroad. The latest hijacked was The Sirius Star with 25 crew and $100m cargo of oil. Pirates have demanded $25m (£17m) as a replacement for the tanker and crew. Source said, the pirates have upgraded their capability with the latest military equipment. Money from previous hijacked was used to procure the latest military equipment. With the latest technology, the pirates just need 16 minutes to take control of the Saudi tanker, Sirius Star. The number of hijack and the latest call for much higher ransom is alarming yet not many actions from the international community. The only positive progress, I heard was when my hand phone vibrate and the message read as “Indian navy destroyed a suspected pirate "mother ship" after it failed to stop for an inspection” but this is not good enough to stop the piracy.