10 December 2009

Pirate-Held Tanker at ‘Unsafe Anchorage’ Risks Spill (Update1)

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By Alaric Nightingale
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- A supertanker seized by Somali pirates is at an “unsafe anchorage” and risks causing an environmental catastrophe as weather deteriorates, the United Nations’ shipping agency said.
An oil spill is becoming more likely because of worsening conditions, the International Maritime Organization said today in a statement on its Web site. The 2 million-barrel carrier Maran Centaurus is anchored off the port of Hobyo after being seized on Nov. 29 while sailing to the U.S. from Kuwait.
Somalia lacks the equipment to deal with an oil spill, which would damage fishing grounds off the East African country’s coast, the agency said.
The East African country has led a global surge in piracy this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Attacks worldwide had surpassed levels for all of 2008 by the end of September, the group, which is part of the International Chamber of Commerce, has said.
The number of attacks in the Indian Ocean off the Somali coast more than tripled to 47 in the nine-month period from 12 a year earlier, while incidents in the Gulf of Aden increased to 100 from 51, according to the bureau. A total of 306 attacks had taken place worldwide by Sept. 30, compared with 293 for 2008, its figures show.
The Maran Centaurus, captured about 800 miles of Somalia’s coast, is the second supertanker that pirates from the country have seized in a year. They took the Saudi Arabian carrier Sirius Star in November 2008, eventually securing a $3 million ransom payment for the vessel’s release, according to the U.S Congressional Research Service.
Separately, the U.K.-owned bulk carrier Ariana was released today, more than seven months after it was hijacked, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said. The vessel had a crew of 24 from Ukraine.

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