Great News: Somali Pirates Seize Saudi Supertanker

From CNN international:

The Sirius Star -- a crude "super tanker" flagged in Liberia and owned by the Saudi Arabian-based Saudi Aramco company -- was attacked on Saturday more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya.

The crew of 25, including British, Croatian, Polish, Filippino and Saudi nationals, are reported to be safe

U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet Cmdr. Jane Campbell said the super tanker weighs more than 300,000 metric tons and "is more than three times the size of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier."

Supertankers are the hulking beasts of the high seas, and this one was reportedly carrying a full load of 2M barrels of crude. Despite some new techniques being developed to combat piracy, it seems like the international community is losing this battle. That's great for a band of marauding thugs off the coast of Africa, bad for the rest of the world that depends on commerce.

Wired: Danger Room has more details.