Tuesday, March 15, 2005
More on Piracy
I had heard of an attack on a oil tanker, but I had assumed it was a myth. Here are the details.
Jax.
In 1998, pirates assumed control of the oil tanker Petro Ranger in the South China Sea and forced the crew to teach them how to operate the vessel.
They then made one of their hostages paint over the name of the ship with a new name, and replaced the Singapore flag with one from Honduras.
The tanker sailed to somewhere off the coast of China, where it was drained of its oil.
As Chinese officials were about to issue the ship with a new registration - allowing the pirates to sell her for an estimated $16m - the crew were able to alert the authorities.
