A battle was raging last night among rival Somali pirate gangs over the record $7 million ransom they collected for freeing the Greek supertanker Maran Centaurus.
Machinegun fire echoed across the village of Haradheere, the hub of pirate activity on the Somali coast, and corpses littered the streets. “I have seen the body of one pirate and two injured so far but the casualties could be far higher than that,” Abdulahi Haji Mohamed, a resident, said.
The ransom for the 300,000-tonne ship laden with $156 million worth of crude was parachuted on the deck on Sunday, triggering the first gunfight.
Sources say the feud started when the original hijackers, a gang from the semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland, were accused of reneging on a deal to share their booty with those from Haradheere in southern Somalia where the tanker was moored.
Armed pirates from Haradhere put to sea in skiffs and surrounded the tanker while the hostage-takers in return threatened to blow up the ship. At one point the pirates holding the vessel and its crew of 28 sought the help of the EU’s anti-piracy fleet in desperation as they came under attack from rival Somali gangs.
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“We didn’t respond of course,” said Commander John Harbour, spokesman of the EU fleet.
According to reports from Nairobi-based environmental group Ecoterra International two pirates were killed in the fighting.
However, a pirate called Omar Muse disputed this, telling The Times: “One of our friends was injured in a brief shoot-out.”
With that initial dispute resolved, the ship was allowed to set sail for the South African port of Durban. The hijackers reportedly donated $500 each to the crew for “good behaviour” before heading for Haradheere with their loot. The fighting resumed shortly after they got home.
The Greek owner declined to give any details about how it secured the release of the ship and crew for fear, it said, of encouraging further acts of piracy.
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Maran Tankers Management said it was delighted that “all 28 members of the officers and crew of the Maran Centaurus are safe and well and looking forward to being reunited with their families”.
It extended special thanks to the Greek Government and Minister of Defence.
The Maran Centaurus and its crew were seized by a gang of nine pirates on 29 November close to the Seychelles, 800 miles from the Somali coast. Loaded with two million barrels of oil, the tanker was slow moving and low in the water, making it a relatively easy target for the pirates.
This was the second time a supertanker has been taken by Somali pirates. In November 2008 pirates seized the 318,000 tonne Saudi-owned Sirius Star , the largest ship so far hijacked. It was released in January last year after payment of a $3 million ransom.