Somali pirates holding an oil-laden Saudi super-tanker for a $25 million dollar ransom said they will fight back should any military intervention to free the ship be attempted, a member of the pirate group said Saturday. "I hope the owner of the tanker is wise enough and won't allow any military option because that would be disastrous for everybody. We are here to defend the tanker if attacked," Abdiyare Moalim told AFP.| " I hope the owner of the tanker is wise enough and won't allow any military option because that would be disastrous for everybody. We are here to defend the tanker if attacked. " Pirate |
A local fisherman told AFP that reinforcements of at least 10 well-armed men had joined the pirates holding the ship and its 25-strong crew. "Early this morning, I saw at least 10 heavily armed pirates heading to the ship. Their boat returned after dropping them off," Hassan Ahmed said.
Local militia and hardline Shebab fighters also arrived in Harardhere in what some residents said was a move to position themselves for a share of any ransom paid.
Ransom
The Sirius Star, the biggest ship ever hijacked, and its 100 million dollar load of oil was seized last Saturday and taken to Harardhere, 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of lawless Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
The pirates on Thursday gave the owners 10 days to pay a $25 million dollarransom, said a pirate who identified himself as Mohamed Said, threatening "disastrous" consequences if Vela International, shipping arm of the Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco, fail to comply. "The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous," he said.
He did not specify the threatened action but the 330-meter (1,000-foot) long tanker is carrying two million barrels of crude oil. Environmental groups have warned of a huge catastrophe if oil from the super-tanker was released.
| There's a way to fix the problem: release the oil into the ocean and Greenpeace will take the pirates down without mercy ... |