Pirates hijack US-bound oil tanker off Oman

Suspected Somali pirates captured a US-bound tanker carrying around US$200 million worth of crude oil in the Indian Ocean in one of the biggest hijackings in the area so far.

The Irene SL, the length of three soccer pitches and with 25 crew members on board, was carrying about 2 million barrels of oil, or nearly one fifth of daily US crude imports.

The hijacking came a day after an Italian tanker carrying oil worth more than US$60 million was snatched by Somali pirates, reinforcing industry fears that the piracy scourge is "spinning out of control".

"This morning the vessel was attacked by armed men," the Irene SL's Greece-based manager Enesel said. "For the moment there is no communication with the vessel."

Indian Navy successfully combats pirates

India’s coast guard and navy has captured 28 suspected Somali pirates and rescued 24 Thai fisherman from a fishing trawler that was used as a pirate mothership off the coast of India. It is the country’s second piracy success in under two weeks.

On Saturday February 5, the Greek-flagged merchant ship Chios was attacked by pirates about 100 miles off the Indian coast, but the attack was unsuccessful. A coast guard vessel, the ICGS Smar, and INS Tir, an Indian Navy training ship, were deployed to search for the pirates. The next day Smar came across the Thai fishing Trawler, Prantalay 11, which had been hijacked in April last year. After shadowing the trawler and failing to establish communications with it, the ICGS fired several warning shots, forcing the vessel to stop.

“The crew of the pirate vessel surrendered by hoisting a white flag and mustered on the forward portion of the ship,” the coastguard said. “All personnel onboard the pirates' vessel were thereafter directed to jump into the water for recovery.” 

Samar and Tir picked up a total of 28 suspected pirates and 24 fishermen. The pirates had been using the Thai ship as mother ship and used for launching raids on the open ocean.