Top Job

Top Job
Top Job

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Somali "Pirates attack drillship offshore Tanzania"

Somali pirates involved as "Pirates attack drillship offshore Tanzania":
According to a report from Reuters, Somali pirates have attacked an oil and gas drillship in the Indian Ocean offshore Tanzania.

Seven Somali pirates have been arrested after they attacked the Ocean Rig Poseidon drillship operating for Brazilian major Petrobras offshore Tanzania, reported Reuters.

Seven pirates attacked the drillship from a small boat using weapons, but security aboard the rig and the Tanzanian Navy returned fire, captured and arrested the men.
Full Reuters report here:
"In the incident, seven pirates in a small boat attacked the ship with weapons. Security personnel on the ship with the help of the Tanzanian navy returned fire and managed to subdue and arrest the pirates."

The incident, which officials said occurred late on Monday about 82 nautical miles from the capital Dar es Salaam, brings to 18 the total number of pirates arrested in Tanzania following attacks in its Indian Ocean territorial waters.

Tanzania in April ordered its army to escort ships searching for oil and gas off its coast to protect them from Somali pirates, who are suspected of kidnapping expatriate workers on exploration ships for hefty ransoms.

Analysts had warned Somali pirates were likely to turn to softer targets, such as tourists in Kenya, in response to more robust defense of merchant vessels by private security guards.

3 comments:

  1. I wonder if the companies would be amenable to providing basing support for PGs, aerostats and helicopters on some of their rigs in places prone to piracy?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds to me as if the Tanzanian Navy and private security have this under control.

    I wonder if we'll see a BBC headline about these pirates in the "hell" of the Tanzanian prison system?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would be very much surprised, were the media to be believed only the US is capable of inflicting such torment on criminals. The idea of hanging them in chains still appeals to the traditionalist in me (blowing them from the mouths of guns is so messy), though I believe marooning was another customary punishment. There are some lovely islands near Antarctica......

    ReplyDelete