Pirates Seize Saudi Supertanker
I found this interesting story about pirates taking over a Saudi Supertaker. It was holding over more than $100 million worth of crude oil. The writer of the article is Robert F. Worth. The story took place off the coasts of Kenya, but Worth reported from Jidda, Saudi Arabia. This adds more credibility to his story because he is actually near the area (particularly, he is in the country that owns the stolen ship) and he seems to know about the region and what this act of piracy means. Even though this is a story about a foreign ship getting overtaken, it has significance to Americans on an economic level. The ship was in route to the United States to bring the crude oil here. And the article captures the American viewpoint of the hijacking quite well. There are quotes from people in the US Navy and Washington (as well as some international workers). But in terms of capturing the local view of the act of piracy, the article seems to be lacking. Worth doesn’t talk to anyone about it on the Saudi side. Since it was a Saudi Supertanker, you might think that there would be discussion with someone, but he sticks to interviewing and quoting non-Saudis. Granted, it is important that the oil was destined for the US and the piracy occurred near Kenya, but it was their goods being transported and I think it would have been beneficial to the article to include their point of view.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/world/africa/19pirate.html?ref=world
-Andrew
November 19, 2008 at 9:14 pm
It seems like there have been more and more attacks from pirates attacking ships, whether they be international or from the US. This article especially is scary to think about because of it’s direct link with our economy. I read an article recently claiming that pirate attacks have been increasing and have gotten more violent with each attack. I’m not really sure if there’s anyway to at least lessen the attacks, but I definitely think this issue has to be dealt with to avoid situations like this.