Pirates move Saudi tanker after threat from insurgents

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali pirates have taken their greatest prize - a Saudi supertanker with $100 million of crude oil - farther offshore in what appears to be a rare defensive move after threats by Islamic insurgents.

Last Friday, Islamic fighters promised to fight the pirates and free the Sirius Star because it was Muslim-owned and flagged under Saudi Arabia. Since shortly after its hijacking Nov. 15, the 1,080-foot-long ship had been anchored two miles off the coastal village of Harardhere.

On Sunday, pirates moved the ship about 28 miles off the coast.

The fighters said they represented al-Shabab - the Islamic group waging a deadly insurgency in Somalia - but the group's leadership denied that yesterday, saying the threats were not from the group's official spokesman.

Roger Middleton, author of a recent report on piracy for London-based think-tank Chatham House, said it was unclear whether al-Shabab intended to seriously attack or if the group was just posturing.

"It is possible that al-Shabab see eradicating piracy as a means toward garnering some sort of international acceptance," he said. "It's unclear whether they really want to do it or just say it to improve their image. . . . The element of embarrassing the [government] and highlighting how incapable they are may also have played a part for them."

Al-Shabab had never attacked a pirated ship before, he said, but militias linked to the Puntland administration in northern Somalia had twice intervened when pirates captured a ship with connections to Somali business interests.

The pirates have dominated Somalia's high seas for the last year, bringing in at least $30 million in ransom despite stepped up international efforts to fight them, including the use of foreign warships.

But the hijacking of the Sirius Star was the pirates' most audacious to date.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991. Piracy was almost wiped out during a previous Islamic administration in 2006. But since then, ransoms have increased significantly, providing multi-million-dollar hauls. Some factions of the insurgency are believed to be benefiting from the criminal enterprise by providing protection rackets.