Quote:
Seized tanker anchors off Somalia
Pirates have anchored a hijacked Saudi oil tanker off the Somali coast, as the spate of hijackings gathered pace with two more ships seized on Tuesday.
Vela International said all 25 crew on the Sirius Star - the biggest tanker ever hijacked - were said to be safe.
The vessel is carrying a cargo of 2m barrels - a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - worth more than $100m.
A cargo ship and a fishing vessel were the latest to join more than 90 vessels attacked by the pirates this year.
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BBC NEWS | Africa | Seized tanker anchors off Somalia
The funniest part about all this is that there's really nothing that can be done about it. These guys went out and stole an oil tanker and what is being done? They're waiting for a ransom demand.
Now, I'm not going to sit here acting like I know better than the powers that be. Because, really, I have no clue what could be done here, either. They have hostages, so a rescue operation will certainly put them at risk. If they surround the boat and 'wait them out', they run the same risk. Somalia doesn't have much of a government, so they're not going to do anything about it.
Plus, who's responsibility is it to act on this (if anyone comes up with any sort of action in the first place)? It's a Saudi ship, with Saudi oil, headed to customers in the US, with an international crew, now in Somali territory, held by Somali pirates.
Obviously, if Somalia had the ability to do so, the international community would be calling on them to do something. But Somalia is pretty much African Lord of the Flies, so there's nothing they can do.
So, what do you guys think? Should an international coalition go in an attempt to rescue the hostages and tanker? Should a ransom simply be paid? How can such a thing be prevented in the future? What are the pros and cons of simply switching shipping routes (besides it being a bigger pain in the ass to get shipments around the world)?