<p> can make 100 million dollars
</p>
<p> <b>NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN)</b> -- The crew of a supertanker are reported safe after pirates hijacked the vessel laden with oil and holed up in lawless Somalia.
</p> <!--startclickprintexclude--> <!-- PURGE: /2008/WORLD/africa/11/18/kenya.tanker.pirates/art.sirius.star2.ap.jpg --><!-- KEEP -->
<div class="cnnStoryPhotoBox">
<div id="cnnImgChngr" class="cnnImgChngr"><!----><!--===========IMAGE============-->
<img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/africa/11/18/kenya.tanker.pirates/art.sirius.star2.ap.jpg" alt="An undated photo of the Sirius Star in South Korean waters." border="0" height="219" width="292" /><!--===========/IMAGE===========-->
<div class="cnnStoryPhotoCaptionBox">
<div class="cnn3pxTB9pxLRPad">
<p><!--===========CAPTION==========-->An undated photo of the Sirius Star in South Korean waters.Two more ships were attacked Tuesday off the East African coast and a third was seized Saturday but only reported Tuesday, according to a monitoring agency.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div><!-- /PURGE: /2008/WORLD/africa/11/18/kenya.tanker.pirates/art.sirius.star2.ap.jpg --> <!--endclickprintexclude-->
<p> The spate of hijackings underscores a dramatic increase in piracy that has alarmed national governments and shipping companies around the world."This is completely unprecedented," said Michael Howlett, assistant director of the International Maritime Bureau in London, which tracks pirate attacks. "We've never seen a situation like this."
</p>
<p> The three hijackings reported Tuesday bring to 95 the number of incidents involving pirates and commercial vessels off the East African coast this year -- up from 31 incidents in 2007 and 10 in 2006, Howlett said.The Sirius Star supertanker attacked Saturday weighs more than 300,000 metric tons.
</p>The massive ship is three times the size of an aircraft carrier and fully loaded with as much as 2 million barrels of oil valued at around $100 million.
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
</p>
<p> <b>NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN)</b> -- The crew of a supertanker are reported safe after pirates hijacked the vessel laden with oil and holed up in lawless Somalia.
</p> <!--startclickprintexclude--> <!-- PURGE: /2008/WORLD/africa/11/18/kenya.tanker.pirates/art.sirius.star2.ap.jpg --><!-- KEEP -->
<div class="cnnStoryPhotoBox">
<div id="cnnImgChngr" class="cnnImgChngr"><!----><!--===========IMAGE============-->
<img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/africa/11/18/kenya.tanker.pirates/art.sirius.star2.ap.jpg" alt="An undated photo of the Sirius Star in South Korean waters." border="0" height="219" width="292" /><!--===========/IMAGE===========-->
<div class="cnnStoryPhotoCaptionBox">
<div class="cnn3pxTB9pxLRPad">
<p><!--===========CAPTION==========-->An undated photo of the Sirius Star in South Korean waters.Two more ships were attacked Tuesday off the East African coast and a third was seized Saturday but only reported Tuesday, according to a monitoring agency.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div><!-- /PURGE: /2008/WORLD/africa/11/18/kenya.tanker.pirates/art.sirius.star2.ap.jpg --> <!--endclickprintexclude-->
<p> The spate of hijackings underscores a dramatic increase in piracy that has alarmed national governments and shipping companies around the world."This is completely unprecedented," said Michael Howlett, assistant director of the International Maritime Bureau in London, which tracks pirate attacks. "We've never seen a situation like this."
</p>
<p> The three hijackings reported Tuesday bring to 95 the number of incidents involving pirates and commercial vessels off the East African coast this year -- up from 31 incidents in 2007 and 10 in 2006, Howlett said.The Sirius Star supertanker attacked Saturday weighs more than 300,000 metric tons.
</p>The massive ship is three times the size of an aircraft carrier and fully loaded with as much as 2 million barrels of oil valued at around $100 million.
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
