Hijacked tanker anchors off Somalia

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Source: CCTV.com | 11-19-2008 09:46

A Saudi supertanker seized by pirates and loaded with crude oil worth 100 million US dollars is now anchored off the coast of northeastern Somalia.

The US and other naval forces have decided against intervention for now.

Saudi-owned crude oil supertanker Sirius Star is seen during its naming ceremony in South Korea in this  undated handout picture released on June 18, 2008 and obtained by Reuters on November 18, 2008. The supertanker, hijacked by pirates with a $100 million oil cargo in the largest ever such seizure, has reached the coast of north Somalia, a regional maritime group said on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Officials say the tanker, the Sirius Star, is now moored at Harardhere, near where an Ukrainian ship carrying weapons is also being held by pirates.

NATO says it will not divert any of its three warships from the Gulf of Aden. And the US Navy's 5th Fleet also says it does not expect to send ships to try to intercept the Sirius Star.

NATO says the hijack of the supertanker is an unprecedented act of piracy.

James Appathurai, NATO Spokesman, said, "We were nowhere near because this attack took place thousands of miles away from where one would normally expect those attacks to take place. This was unprecedented in where it took place, and the kind of ship it took on, so it is a very different kind of attack. We don't have any ships nearby."