Greek oil supertanker Irene hijacked off Oman

BBC Africa ^ | February 9, 2011

[Pan_Yan]

A supertanker carrying about $200m (£125m; 146m euros) worth of crude oil has been hijacked off the coast of Oman, the vessel's Greek operator says.

Athens-based shipping company Enesel said they had lost communication with the Irene SL.

The vessel was on its way from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Mexico when it was attacked.

Although the incident happened hundreds of miles from Somalia, pirate gangs are known to operate there.

"This morning the vessel was attacked by armed men," said Enesel in a statement quoted by Reuters.

"For the moment there is no communication with the vessel."

[Pan_Yan]

The Greeks paid several million to get the much smaller MV Motivator last month. This one will cost them plenty unless they have learned from the South Koreans and Malaysians.

[Pan_Yan]

Ship Type: Tanker
Year Built: 2004
Length x Breadth: 333 m (1093 ft) X 60 m (197 ft)
DeadWeight: 319247 t
Speed recorded (Max / Average): 14.9 / 14.9 knots
Flag: Greece [GR]
Call Sign: SVXS
IMO: 9285823, MMSI: 240247000

[paul544]

It still baffles me how this keep happening... How in the world are you sending millions of dollars of cargo out to sea completely oblivious to these risks? For what they are going to pay in ransom they could have staffed security details for everyone of their ships.

[Pan_Yan]

The beancounters must be telling them that for the number of ships at sea the odds are still in their favor. This one might change that perception since it is 20 times larger and more expensive than the average ship that is captured by the pirates. If the pirates start seizing supertankers the already jumpy oil markets will get worse.

[TSgt]

Because it is not politically correct to do the right thing...exterminate them.

[Pan_Yan]

I’ll bet the EU task force takes this one back. The European governments will be screaming about $200,000,000 in oil anchored off a Somali fishing village.

[SMARTY]

Can anyone completely believe that Greece has NO complicity in the ‘hijacking’??

[ThunderSleeps]

Because it is not politically correct to do the right thing...exterminate them.

That's what I'd do. Helo-in or come in on a sub with a SEAL team, retake the ship. ROE? Kill them all. Piracy on the high seas, the sentence death, carried out immediately if not sooner.

Pretty soon these worthless SOBs would get the message that being a pirate isn't the swashbuckling, wear the cool shirt, get the pretty girl, drink the rum lifestyle depicted by Hollywood. Let them know the life expectancy of a pirate is very, very short, and always ends in a violent and painful death.

[demkicker]

You may be onto something because it makes no sense otherwise. I still vote for making the Greeks the butt (pun intended) of jokes for their ignorance/negligence in not protecting these tankers.

[Venturer]

Take the ship back and do like the Rusians did. Leave the Pirates who may be left alive,in an open boat with no oars and no supplies.

If you keep paying the ransom, they will keep taking the ships.

[TSgt]

A simple Navy patrol boat could handle them.


Perhaps there's an opportunity here for a sea version of Blackwater?

Wait...

The contractor Blackwater Worldwide is in talks with 13 shipping companies interested in hiring the firm’s ship to escort their cargo vessels through the pirate-plagued waters off the Horn of Africa, the company’s president said. Blackwater CEO Erik Prince said the world’s shipping firms are eager for as much protection as possible for their vessels, partly because the U.S. and international warships in the Gulf of Aden haven’t done enough to stop or dissuade piracy. “Clearly they’re not patrolling everywhere because there are attacks occurring on a regular basis,” Prince said. “We’d be focusing on the customers who hired us.” Blackwater’s main tool is its 183-foot ship, the McArthur, a retired oceanographic survey vessel that has been refitted to carry two OH-6 Little Bird helicopters, three rigid-hull inflatable boats and 35 “security professionals,” as Prince called them. The McArthur, its aircraft and its boats will run a maritime version of Blackwater’s personal security detail, Prince said, escorting client vessels just as their ground operatives protect clients in road convoys. It takes about 24 hours for a ship to move through the dangerous waters, Prince said. The McArthur could meet a ship near the southern mouth of the Red Sea — the Bab al-Mandeb, or “gate of tears,” — sail around the Horn of Africa and rendezvous with a northbound vessel and make the reverse trip. According to a report in the shipping industry newspaper Lloyd’s List, French warships began Oct. 6 accompanying merchant vessels in similar missions through the area. Prince appeared Sunday on “This Week in Defense News,” a television show hosted by Navy Times’ sister publication, Defense News. He said the 20,000 ships that travel past the Horn of Africa each year could provide a steady market for protection services. The U.S. and international navies that patrol the Gulf of Aden have been stymied by a thicket of legal confusion about what capabilities they have to fight pirates on the high seas and in Somali waters. Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, commander of Naval Forces Europe, told reporters Oct. 21 that NATO is debating rules of engagement for dealing with pirates. Fitzgerald said a major problem is that until they attack, it’s seldom clear which mariners are pirates. Prince said the McArthur’s crew will have clear policies on the use of force. The contractors will initially use a laser dazzler or a Long Range Acoustic Device to warn away suspected pirates, then warning shots, before firing on attackers. But he said he wasn’t worried that his operatives would have trouble identifying which ships to worry about. “If guys are in a 20-foot fishing boat in the middle of the Gulf of Aden holding [rocket-propelled grenades], they’re not out there fishing,” Prince said. “You know what their intent is.”

[TSgt]

Nevermind...

Blackwater pirate fighting ship sidelined by its own crew
http://themaritimeblog.com/915/blackwater-pirate-fighting-ship-sidelined-by-its-own-crew
One former crew member says that on the orders of the captain, he was thrown to the deck and handcuffed in retaliation for speaking to a newspaper reporter. He is suing for false imprisonment, saying he was unlawfully detained by being ‘placed in irons.’

Another crew member, who is black, says that he was subjected to racial epithets from the chief engineer and that when he complained, the captain did nothing about the harassment and retaliated by giving the seaman a poor evaluation.

A third man, the ship’s chief steward, says he was fired after he submitted a written statement to his superiors documenting the hostile work environment and racial harassment aboard the vessel.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell did not comment direct on the litigation, but she said one of the employees was terminated for cause. Regarding the discrimination suit, she told Virginian-Pilot the company “does not condone and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind and takes allegations to the contrary very seriously.” But she also disclosed that the company is no longer doing counter-piracy work.

[SMARTY]

I remeber reading, at the beginning of the WOT, that Greece is the most ‘terrorist friendly’ spot on the map of the ME/MED.

Their airports are the LEAST secure and their political ‘attitude’ is MOST sympathetic.

Of course, ANYTHING anti-American is popular with the Greeks!!

[Pan_Yan]

http://brucekrasting.blogspot.com/2011/02/shipping-news-pirate-update.html

Mark for later reference.