Re: Tanker
Originally Posted by
The Artful Todger
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Probably because the ship was loaded with crude oil and so the unwanted passengers were visually indistinguishable and the horrible overwhelming stink of crude ruled out any other abnormal pong being noticed.
The only thing that earns Nigerian crude the definition "sweet" is the low levels of sulphur it contains.
You're, probably, an expert in oil, but you might not have noted that crude oil has a dangerously low flashpoint, and, as a result, any smell present, whilst at sea, would suggest an oil leak, any oil leak would be explosive in the event of lightning, or whatever.
In the event, this is what a newspaper suggests might happen to the Pirates:-
"What’s the law on hijacking and piracy?
The seven were arrested under Section 9 of the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990, which deals with hijackings. The law states: ‘A person who unlawfully, by the use of force or by threats of any kind, seizes a ship or exercises control of it, commits the offence of hijacking a ship.’
Richard Neylon, an expert in maritime law from law firm HFW, said: ‘If you try to seize control of a vessel and you have no business being aboard that vessel, the threshold is quite low under this legislation.’ The maximum sentence under the legislation is life imprisonment."