![starmade cargo starmade cargo](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XKcTT0ksHCw/VM1FQJ8Y_8I/AAAAAAAAAck/czC_GFeBc7Y/s1600/022c.jpg)
"We are seeking more information on the incident," a spokesman said. "Vela response teams have been mobilised and are working to ensure the safe release of crew members and the vessel," it added.Ĭonfirming that two Britons were aboard the tanker, the UK Foreign Office said it could not give any details of their role on the ship. The ship's operator, Vela International, said that all of the crew were reported to be safe. The South Korean-built Sirius Star, owned by the Saudi company Aramco, made its maiden voyage in March 2008. "It's the largest ship that we've seen pirated," said Lt Christensen. It is about as long as a US aircraft carrier and, when loaded, weighs more than three times as much. With a capacity of 318,000 dead weight tonnes, the ship is 330m (1,080ft) long and is classed as a Very Large Crude Carrier. The route around the Cape of Good Hope is a main thoroughfare for fully-laden supertankers from the Gulf.
![starmade cargo starmade cargo](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/anno2070/images/a/aa/ContainerShipConceptArt01.png)
The supertanker was heading for the US via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, Reuters reports. He says that such hijackings are usually resolved peacefully through negotiations but, given the high profile of this event and the value of the cargo, there is always the possibility of some kind of military response.Īttacks on shipping off the Horn of Africa and Kenya by mainly Somali pirates seeking ransoms prompted foreign navies to send warships to the area this year.Ī number of vessels and their crews have been held captive for months, including the Ukrainian freighter MV Faina, seized in September. The capture, south-east of Mombasa, is highly unusual both in terms of the size of the ship and the fact it was attacked so far from the African coast, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says. News of the attack raised crude oil prices on global markets following an earlier slump, Reuters news agency reported. War-torn Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991. The US Navy said the ship was "nearing an anchorage point" at Eyl, a port often used by pirates based in Somalia's Puntland region.