Pirates 'earned $150m this year'

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk There are fears if the ransom is paid other super-tankers will be targeted Somali pirates have been paid more than $150m in ransoms in the past 12 month Ninety-five attacks have been recorded off the Somali coast this year, including the recent capture of a Saudi tanker carrying a $100m cargo of oil. Several navies have already engaged in battles against the pirates. Sailors seized by Somali pirates usually have to wait 45 days or more for the ships' owners to pay the ransom and win their release, he says. On Thursday, Maersk, one of the world's biggest shipping firms, announced that some of its fleet, mainly tankers, would no longer use the Gulf of Aden unless there were more naval escorted convoys. The UN Security Council is due to renew a six-month-old resolution specifying the terms under which foreign navies can pursue pirates into Somali waters