Somali Pirates Perpetrate Record Hijacking

Somali pirates have hijacked a supertanker carrying an oil shipment worthy nearly $100 million hundreds of kilometers off the coast of Kenya. News reports indicate that the Sirius Star was hijacked over 700 kilometres off the Kenya coast headed for the Somali coast, where it was "nearing an anchorage point" at Eyl, a port in Somalia’s self declared autonomous region of Puntland. At three times the size of an aircraft, the Sirius Star is the largest ship ever to be seized by Somali pirates. Reports say there are 25 crew members aboard and the ship was headed to the US via South Africa. [PE]