The Saudi oil tanker Sirius Star has reportedly been released by Somali pirates and is now heading to safe waters after a $3 million ransom was paid for vessel and crew.
Somali pirates hijacked the Sirius Star in November and held the 25-member crew along with its contents of two million barrels of oil, worth more than $100 million, hostage while the ship’s owner and a negotiator worked out a ransom payment.
The hijacking of the Sirius Star stunned the international community due to its sheer size, becoming the largest vessel ever commandeered. Shortly after the seizure several countries began pledging a more aggressive approach to monitoring the waters off the Somali coast as a means of ensuring safe passage for ships.
On Thursday it was announced an International force would be organized that would patrol a shipping lane off the coast of Somalia. The Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151), will be comprised of more than twenty countries and actively monitor a 480-mile shipping lane off the Somali coast.
Source: https://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=72770[TransWorldNews]
