The Price of Piracy

The problem of Somali piracy took a new and worrying twist recently when a fully laden tanker, one of the largest in the world, was hijacked off the Horn of Africa while bound for the US. This week, Efthimios Mitropoulos, the head of the UN's International Maritime Organisation, warned of a possible ecological disaster off the coast of the war torn country.

The Maran Centaurus was seized some 800 miles from Somalia late November and is carrying two million barrels of crude oil worth $20m.

The vessel is said to be anchored in an exposed area off the port of Hobyo in Somalia.

"If something goes wrong and if for some reason the ship runs aground, because of the large quantity of oil in the tanks there could be an ecological catastrophe which would have repercussions for fishing and cause even more suffering to the Somali people," he told the London maritime newspaper Lloyd's List.

Mr Mitropoulos has written to the prime minister of the Somali transitional government urging him to take whatever steps he can to remedy the situation.

In circumstances such as this, a vessel would either enter a safe port, seek a sheltered anchorage or, at worst, ride out the storm at sea.

There are 28 seafarers on board but it is unclear what control they have over the tanker.

And with Somalia in such a mess, it is unlikely what the transitional government can actually do to help.

The most feasible option, experts say, is a rapid end to ransom negotiations in order to secure the release of the vessel.

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