FACTBOX - Hijacked tanker Sirius Star

Published: 11:25AM Tuesday November 18, 2008 Source: Reuters

• Email this article
• Print this article
• Text size + -
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

Somali pirates captured a fully laden Saudi supertanker off east Africa, seizing the biggest vessel ever hijacked with a cargo of oil worth more than $100 million.
   
Here are some facts about the Sirius Star, one of the world's newest and biggest oil tankers:
   
- Owned by Vela International Marine, state oil giant Saudi Aramco's shipping arm, the 318,000 deadweight tons 330-metre Sirius Star is one of 19 supertankers in the Saudi fleet. It was launched in South Korea this March.
   
- With 25 crew from Croatia, Britain, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia, it is a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), and can carry up to two million barrels of crude oil.
   
- A new VLCC costs around $140-$150 million to purchase. Because of their massive draft and length they are unable to dock at many existing ports, requiring deep-water terminals, or facilities to discharge cargoes onto other small tankers at sea. Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet said: "It's three times the size of an aircraft carrier."
   
- The naming of the vessel in South Korea marked the first time that a Saudi woman had performed a Vela naming ceremony.
  
- The Liberian-registered Sirius Star had been heading for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, skirting the continent instead of heading through the Gulf of Aden and then the Suez Canal.

• Email this article
• Print this article
• Text size + -
• more...
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

World News Video

• Tibetans protest Chinese oppression (1:44) 
• Britain rules out military involvement in Syria (2:04) 
• FBI release secret Steve Jobs files (1:35) 

World News

• updated 08:28 Car bombs kill 28 in Syrian city of Aleppo
• Brazilian oil giant appoints female president
• Dam engineers acted by the book - Hydrologist
• Tensions rise as Falklands War 30th anniversary nears
• Greek austerity package fails to impress EU
• Marines claim 'ignorance' after posing with Nazi symbol
• Dog bites TV presenter live on air watch

Most Popular

1. Search resumes for boy missing in river
2. Asians face most discrimination in NZ - survey
3. Facebook hands over pages of NZ murder suspects
4. Engineer calls for Williamson's resignation watch
5. Dog bites TV presenter live on air watch

rssLatest News

• updated 08:28 Car bombs kill 28 in Syrian city of Aleppo
• 07:52 Facebook hands over pages of NZ murder suspects
• updated 07:43 Search resumes for boy missing in river
• 07:11 Australia deny Sri Lanka in thriller
• 07:04 Asians face most discrimination in NZ - survey

Advertising