Somali pirates captured a an oil tanker off the coast of Oman on Wednesday. The vessel, which was en route to the US, is carrying about $150 million worth of oil.
According to the AP, the Irene SL was heading from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Mexico with 266,000 tons of crude oil. On board were seven Greeks, 17 Filipinos, and one Georgian.
Piraeus-based shipping company First Navigation confirmed it was one of their ships, but did not offer further comment. Authorities contact with the ship when it was attacked.
The AP says ransom prices being demanded by the pirates are on the rise, with one ransom as much as $9.5 million. The pirates currently have 29 ships and about 660 hostages.
These pirates are increasingly becoming a problem – as their ransom demands increase, they have more incentive to attack more and more ships regardless of increased security measures out on the sea.
Source: AP
No comments:
Post a Comment