Pirates send SOS plea to anti-piracy force

Call comes after rival gang shows up seeking a cut of $8m ransom

A rival pirate gang showed up just before a US$5.5 million ransom was to be dropped by parachute onto the Maran Centaurus (above, in an undated photograph). -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

NAIROBI: A shoot-out between rival Somali pirate gangs over their biggest ransom ever threatened to turn an oil supertanker and the 28 hostages on board into a massive fireball - until one of the gangs begged the international anti-piracy force for help, a negotiator said.

A pirate gang arrived in two speedboats just before a US$5.5 million (S$8 million) ransom was to be dropped by parachute onto the Maran Centaurus, according to a Somali businessman responsible for the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals.

The crude oil on board, estimated to be worth some US$150 million at the time it was hijacked, is so flammable that smoking is forbidden on deck.

Two helicopters chased away the attackers seeking a cut of the ransom, after the pirates on board called frantically for help.

'It's really remarkable: You have the criminals calling on the police to come and help them,' said pirate expert Roger Middleton from London-based think-tank Chatham House, who said it was the first time he could recall such a situation.

The stand-off began on Sunday, nearly two months after the supertanker was seized on Nov 29 about 1,290km off the Somali coast. After weeks of wrangling, the pirates finally settled on a US$5.5 million ransom for the tanker, the Somali businessman said.

Commander John Harbour, spokesman for the European Union Naval Force, said the arrival of the rival pirate gang in speedboats prompted the pirates on board the tanker to call for assistance from the anti- piracy force. He could not say whether assistance was provided or confirm the amount of the ransom, but said the Greek warship FS Salamis had been nearby monitoring the situation.

The Somali middleman said two helicopters from a nearby warship intervened in Sunday's dispute, hovering over the attacking skiffs. Just the powerful draft beating down from their rotors was enough to frighten off the attackers, he said, and the gunships did not fire.

After the helicopters chased away the attackers, two planes arrived and the huge bundle of cash was pushed out the back of one with a parachute attached. The pirates left the ship on Monday morning.

However, gun battles flared among the pirates after they returned to land, Bashir Shiine Muse, a member of the pirate crew that took the ship, said in a telephone interview on Monday.

'There is mistrust within the group because there are rumours that some extra money has been transferred into another bank account that some of us weren't aware of,' he said.

At least three Somali pirates were killed and three others wounded in an overnight gun battle in the town of Haradhere over the sharing of the ransom, he said.

In a statement, the owner of the Maran Centaurus declined to give any details about how it negotiated the release of the tanker. It added that the crew members - nine Greeks, 16 Filipinos, two Ukrainians and a Romanian - were safe and well.

It is not unheard of for groups of pirates to squabble among themselves. There were reports of a fight following the 2008 release of the Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons and tanks. But it is more common for fights to break out over hostages kept on land, Mr Middleton said.

A Greek coast guard spokesman said the Maran Centaurus left Somalia on Monday escorted by a Greek frigate, and is due to reach Durban, South Africa in a week.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, BLOOMBERG

Source: Straits Times, 20 Jan 2010.

Comments by Property Maestro (PM):

This incident is hilarious! Consider the following points:

a) The pirates called for help;

b) The Spokesman for the EUNF is a commander by the name of Harbour;

c) The Greek warship nearby was the FS Salamis; and

d) the pirates who called for help, got the money, and escaped, shot at one another and some died.

Reminds me of a joke:

How many pirates does it take to change a lightbulb?