[R-G] Grand Theft Nautical

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Now, finally a voice of capitalist reason in the Western media
regarding Somalia. -- Yoshie

<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/opinion/05burnett.htm>
December 5, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Grand Theft Nautical
By JOHN S. BURNETT

TO the horror of many and the fascination of most, the Sirius Star, an
enormous tanker transporting two million barrels of crude oil to the
United States, was captured by pirates far off the African coast on
Nov. 15.

The tanker, owned by Aramco, the Saudi oil company, was carrying
enough crude to supply New England with fuel oil for 10 days — in the
winter. It is seven times the size of the Titanic and longer than the
Chrysler Building is tall. How, then, could a dozen pirates in two
puny boats armed with rifles and a grenade launcher board a ship this
size?

Quite easily — as I found out after spending weeks on a nearly
identical ship on a passage from Saudi Arabia to Singapore five years
ago.