JEDDAH: The hijacking drama of the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star is over, members of the gang said in Mogadishu yesterday.
The capture of the Sirius Star and its $100 million cargo of crude in November drew attention to a surge in piracy off Somalia that has brought global navies rushing to protect one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
A regional maritime group confirmed the report. “The last batch of gunmen have disembarked from the Sirius Star. She is now steaming out to safe waters,” said Andrew Mwangura, of the East African Seafarers Assistance program, based in the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
But a spokesman for Vela International, owners of the Sirius Star, said he could not confirm the release.
A source close to the negotiations for the ship’s release, however, said the company had struck a deal with the pirates and the ship would be released today. Vela is expected to make a statement today.
Mohamed Said, one of the leaders of the pirate group, said by telephone from the pirate lair of Harardhere: “All our people have now left the Sirius Star. The ship is free, the crew is free. There were last-minute problems but now everything has been finalized.” Sahafi Abdi Aden, another of the group’s leaders speaking from the same town, also said the hijacking was over.
“I am in Harardhere now and the issue of the Sirius Star was resolved peacefully. I cannot go into the details of the agreement,” he said.
— With input from agencies
