Somalia Pirates Seize Saudi Oil Tanker: Gas Prices Remain Unchanged
The Sirius Star, an oil tanker with the capacity to carry two million barrels and longer than three football fields, was seized by Somali pirates off the coast of East Africa.
This high tech tanker, staffed by only 25 crew members and owned by Saudi Aramco, was headed south toward the Cape of Good Hope on its way to North America when it was hijacked. World oil markets did not take notice of the hijacking; however, according to the LA Times:
Had the hijacking taken place earlier in the year, before the world’s leading economies began reeling and international demand for oil fell, it might have kicked the price of oil up $5 or more, analysts said.
Image and Via: LA Times
quite some news!
I’m hoping that the oil companies and governments come up with a solution to this problem. Not sure if the answer is to arm all ships at sea, but if left unchecked this will become an epidemic as pirates become ever more bold.