Somali pirates have a new business. They hope to corner the market in crude.
The Greek-owned Maran Centaurus, which is carrying oil from Saudi Arabia to the US, was hijacked in the ocean off East Africa. The oil on the 300,000-ton ship may be worth over $100 million.
The action is not likely to do anything to affect the world’s oil supply or oil prices.
The move may signal that the pirates understand the value of crude both monetarily and psychologically. Oil cargo is viewed as precious cargo, even if the amount is nearly meaningless to world markets, at least for now. An oil tanker is likely to bring a larger ransom that a container ship is because widgets moving moved by boat are unlikely to be worth as much as crude.
Piracy has been big business in Somalia for last two or three years. If the pirates target oil ships, that business is about to get much bigger.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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