On last november 17th the MV Sirius Star was kidnapped, some 400 nautical miles from the Kenya. This ship, being an oil tanker, carries two million barrels of crude oil which is worth about 100 million dollars (67 million pounds). On board the Saudi-Arabian vessel are 25 hostages, including 2 British citizens. The Somalian hijackers demand a 25 million dollar randsom. Today, the UK proclaimed that they will not be paying the ransom, for this will only encourage Somalians to hijack ships. This has been a major problem in the past year, with dozens of ships hijacked in and close to Somalian waters, the Sirius Star being the biggest vessel to be hijacked to date. The British foreign secretary, David Milliband, said this problem can best be resolved with a European force to the region. Some actions have been taken, for instance a safe lane was created to make sure food aid ships can safely reach the shore, but apart from that, a solution has not yet been formed.
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Since it has been a problem for several months now with dozens of hijackings, it surprises me no real solutions have been formed against these pirates. In this situation I can imagine that the UK is not willing to come up with 25 million dollars ransom. Although it is true that human lives are at stake here, it will only lead to more piracy and dangerous situations. My suggestion would be to monitor outgoing traffic from the Somalian shore, in cooperation with the Somalian government obviously. Since Somalia is a political fractured state this will a hard assignment, but only by coming to terms and bringing law and order, this problem will be solved.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7739604.stm
2 opmerkingen:
I hope that Andrea's believe of a sensible agreement will come true, but I am afraid that the Somalian hijackers will not give in this easily. I do not know how to solve this to get all the hostages out of this safe and sound, but I agree with you that the randsom should not be paid.
B-N
I do not agree with you on the cooperation with the somalien government, but I do agree that you should place war ships in front of the harbor to check in and outgoing traffic - they have to get back sometimes don't they?.
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