Sirius Star
The hijacked Sirius Star as photographed by the U.S. Navy.
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Sirius Star |
| Owner: | Vela International Marine |
| Operator: | Vela International Marine |
| Port of registry: |
 Liberia, Monrovia
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| Builder: | Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering |
| Yard number: | 5302 |
| Laid down: | 29 October 2007 |
| Launched: | 28 March 2008 |
| Identification: |
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| Status: | In service |
| Notes: | |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Oil tanker |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 332 m (1,089 ft) |
| Beam: | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Draught: | 22.5 m (74 ft) |
| Crew: | 25 |
| Notes: | |
MV Sirius Star is an oil tanker formally owned and operated by Vela International Marine. With a length overall of 330 m (1,080 ft) and a capacity of 2.2 million barrels (350,000 m3) of crude oil, she is classified as a very large crude carrier or VLCC. Vela is based in the United Arab Emirates and is a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian state oil company Saudi Aramco. Sirius Star is one of Vela's 24 tankers, of which 19 are VLCCs. Since her launch, the ship has been registered in Monrovia under the Liberian flag of convenience.
Sirius Star was built by the South Korean company Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Her construction began in October 2007 and she was launched by Huda M. Ghoson in late March 2008.
She received international attention when she was hijacked by Somali pirates (allegedly under the orders of piracy kingpin Mohamed Abdi Hassan) on 15 November 2008, becoming the largest ship ever captured by pirates. She was en route from Saudi Arabia to the United States by way of the Cape of Good Hope. At the time of the attack, she was about 450 nautical miles (830 km) southeast of the coast of Kenya, carrying 25 crewmen and her tanks fully loaded with oil. She was estimated to be worth approximately US$150 million, with her cargo worth at least US$100 million.
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