Four Somali Pirates Die Over Ransom Squabble

By Abdulaziz Billow Ali



Intense fighting erupted in the Harardhere town of Somalia as some pirates began fighting over the ransom that was delivered to them resulting in the death of four Somali pirates, sources say. A record high of $US7 million was given to the pirates to secure the release of VLCC Maran Centaurs, a Greek-flagged super tanker, one of the largest ships ever hijacked, had been freed, and that was carrying two million barrels of crude oil.

With such a huge amount of money, tension was bound to arise an argument arose over the ransom resulting in the death of four pirates. “The situation is calm this morning but there is still tension between the pirates. Three of them, including a senior pirate leader, were killed so far and three others were injured” local elder Moalim Abdalla Hassan said yesterday. Somali news agency Shabelle media quoted him saying “We are trying to mediate between them because they are disturbing our peace. A civilian was killed in the crossfire and the residents are very concerned about this feud,””I think there will not be trust between them any more since they killed each other. Three pirates have died already since yesterday and if there is no swift mediation, more will die, including civilians,” said a local grocer in Harardhere Mr Nile. Mr Nile added that they feared for their security since the tension between the pirates was still high and that their war might involve the use of heavy weapons.

The operators of the Maran Centaurs, the second largest vessel ever captured by Somali pirates, confirmed the super tanker and its crew of 28 had been freed yesterday and were heading for the South African port of Durban. A $3m ransom was paid for the release of another oil tanker, the Sirius Star, in January 2009. Similar ransoms have been paid subsequently for the release of merchant vessels.