Posted on Saturday, November 29, 2008 - 8:11 pm:

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In a recent interview, the chairman of Lloyd's insurance said it was "highly likely" the owners of the Sirius Star would pay up.

Lord Peter Levene told Britain's Channel Four News television: "At the end of the day there is no alternative, if you don't want lives to be lost."

Posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 - 10:54 pm:

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Roger Middleton, a Horn of Africa specialist at the Chatham House, says the ship-owners hire professionals, from specialist negotiators to private security firms, to transfer the ransoms.

"They are mostly ex-SAS and British or Australian. A lot are also South African," he says.

Not much more is known for certain, however, as it is an unwritten rule among members of such firms that there are no kiss-and-tell stories.

Understandably, those involved are also aware of the needs of their clients and the strict demand for secrecy with people's lives being at stake.

However, Mr Middleton says that such operations cost about $1m, not including the ransom.

"The professional negotiators, acting on behalf of the ship owners, get about $100,000 for their services and the lawyers receive a fee of about $300,000 for ensuring that the shipping companies are not putting themselves in any dubious positions," he explains.

Regarding what goes on behind closed doors, be it the negotiations and the legal and insurance matters as a result of these hijackings, Mr Middleton says it would be fair to say that, "most of it happens in London," he adds.

Gavin Simmonds, head of international affairs at the British Chamber of Shipping, agrees this assumption is "highly likely" as London is the centre of the global maritime industry.

"It seems perfectly plausible that the actual facilitation of ransom money is being done by London-based insurers," he says.

However, Mr Simmonds says he has also heard rumours that some exchanges have taken place in Dubai.

Posted on Friday, December 12, 2008 - 7:24 pm:

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The commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet expressed doubt Friday about the wisdom of launching attacks against Somali pirates on land, as the draft U.N. resolution proposes. A Pentagon spokesman warned against the urge to grasp for a quick and easy military solution to a complex international problem.

U.S. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney told reporters that striking pirate camps in lawless Somalia could open a can of worms. It is difficult to identify pirates, and the potential for killing innocent civilians "cannot be overestimated," Gortney said.

There is a huge risk to any U.S. forces involved, whether small commando units or larger operations. And U.S. commanders still have sour memories of the humiliating "Blackhawk Down" outcome of U.S. military intervention in Somalia more than a decade ago.

Concern about possible mistaken identity extends to operations at sea, too, since pirate ships are often indistinguishable from ragtag fishing vessels. The military is also worried about what would be done with captured pirates, who would try or imprison them.

"There are many that are seeking a simple military solution, or solely a military solution to address the piracy issue," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "I think that we need to take a more comprehensive look a this, and while there may be a military component, this is an issue that has to be addressed more broadly."

Posted on Monday, December 15, 2008 - 12:01 pm:

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Frankly, our Navy commander is playing armchair quarterback. he may be correct, but....

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Days before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to ask the United Nations to authorize "all necessary measures" against piracy from Somalia, the U.S. military, which would help carry out that policy, said in effect: Not so fast.

Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 11:46 am:

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Six Somali pirates drowned when the boat in which they were escaping turned over. Another four are missing. Around 220,000 euros was lost in the sea.

Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 1:14 pm:

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These pirates are toast, soon. The tanker was carrying 100 million dollars worth of cargo. 3 times the figure you just posted, and enough to cause extreme prejudice in response.

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Give it time...this can't go without a vigorous response in order to deter future and accelerated crimes.

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...But five of the dozens of pirates who had hijacked the tanker drowned when their small boat capsized as they returned to shore in rough weather. Three other pirates survived but also lost their share of the ransom.

Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of the British company Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd, said the incident was unlikely to deter attacks.

"The loss or potential loss of the ransom means the pirates will be all the more keen to get the next ransom in," he said. "There are people lining up to be pirates...

...The shaky Somali government is battling insurgents the U.S. State Department says are linked to al-Qaida. But the situation is complicated by clan militias and rivalries within the Islamist movement.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and its lawless coastline is a perfect haven for pirates, who attacked 111 ships in the Gulf of Aden and kidnapped 42 of them last year alone. The multimillion dollar ransoms are one of the only ways to make money in the impoverished Horn of Africa nation.

An international flotilla including U.S. warships has been patrolling the area. The flotilla has stopped many attacks, but the area is too vast to keep all ships safe."