Argh matey, pirates still exist. But these days they're thought of as the terrorists of the high seas. A group of rebel swashbucklers made their way on an oil tanker, The Sirius Star, and held 25 members of its crew hostage off the coast of Kenya yesterday.  Just now news sources have confirmed that the ship llanded in Somalia where the group hail from originally.

"We can confirm the ship is anchoring off the Somali coast at Haradheere," said Lt. Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet. (Abdiqani Hassan, Reuters)

The ship, coming from Saudi Arabia, has over 100 million dollars of oil supply (2 million barrels of oil) aboard. All crew members, including 2 British citizens, are thought to be safe at this time, as confirmed by the Saudi Aramco company in a statement, who are busy undergoing negotiations. The vessel carries more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily exports. This incident marks the largest vessel ever kidnapped. It was seized off the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean this Sunday by a small group of Somalian rebels.

The move has forced insurance costs to increase, forcing other ships to go around South Africa through the Suez Canal, and the group has somehow managed to secure millions of dollars in ransom money, making this one of the most successful raids in history.

"The latest attack looks like a deliberate two fingers from some very bright Somalis. Anyone who describes them as a bunch of camel herders needs to think again," a Nairobi based Somalia specialist told the press.

All this excitement got me to wondering how the heck they managed to pull off such a feat. The plan was carried out, apparently, despite "an international naval response, including from the NATO alliance and the European Union, to protect one of the world's busiest shipping areas." (Reuters)

U.S., French and Russian warships are placed off the coast near Somalia and all government naval bases are watching the situation closely. Admiral Michael Mullen, the US' top military officer in the region said he was "stunned" by the act. "I'm stunned by the range of it, less so than I am the size," said Admiral Mullen. The pirates are "very good at what they do. They're very well armed. Tactically, they are very good," he said. (Times Online)

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said he would work with the European-led initiative to set up security in shipping lanes off Africa's vulnerable coast. "This outrageous act by the pirates, I think, will only reinforce the resolve of the countries of the Red Sea and internationally to fight piracy," he said in a press conference in Athens.

The extreme hijacking has left negotiators with no choice but to offer up a large sum of ransom money for the vessel's contents. And due to the present delicate nature of world politics, there is really no country that can intervene in the matter. Negotiators have no choice but to respond.

To watch extensive video of the coverage, click on this link.