Man Overboard

Five of the pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a $3 million ransom, a day after the bundle of cash was apparently dropped by parachute onto the deck of the ship. That's karma for you, bitches!

The Sirius Star and its 25 crew sailed safely away prior to the weekend, after a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden. As you probably already know, Somalia's lawless coastline borders one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Attacks, which there were over 100 last year, have continued despite the patrols by warships from France, Germany, Britain, America, India and China.

The naval coalition has been closely monitoring both the Sirius Star and the Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with military tanks that has been held since September. The seizure of the Sirius Star on Nov. 15 prompted fears that the pirates might release some of the cargo of crude oil into the ocean, causing an environmental disaster as a way of pressuring negotiators. At the time, the oil was valued at $100 million. Hundreds more kidnapped sailors still remain in the hands of pirates, which there are now almost a half dozen less of. The drowned pirates' boat overturned in rough seas, and family members were still looking for four missing bodies.

I think this is my favorite part of the story, partly written by a guy (no joke) named Salad:

Abukar Haji, uncle of one of the dead pirates, blamed the naval surveillance for the accident that killed his pirate nephew.

"The boat the pirates were traveling in capsized because it was running at high speed because the pirates were afraid of an attack from the warships patrolling around," he said.

"There has been human and monetary loss but what makes us feel sad is that we don't still have the dead bodies of our relatives. Four are still missing and one washed up on the shore."

Fuck you, pirate uncle! Coming soon, terrorist mothers upset their sons are killed trying to stage a bombing...