The pirates of Somalia, in making world trade a bit more of a high risk venture, have finally placed their own unsavory hobby in jeopardy. Bloomberg reports that NATO is currently reassessing its operations in the insecure waters off the coast of Somalia. "This hijacking could really change the picture and we could see much more proactive rules of engagement,'' said Hans Tino Hansen, managing director of Risk Intelligence, a maritime security consultant based in Vedbaek, Denmark.

Already, there are at least 15 warships in the region, forming a multinational coalition armed with the intent of calming those pirate churned waters. In the last ten days, India, Russia, Britain and Germany have each engaged pirates in battle. The report from Bloomberg indicates that more warships are on the way to the Gulf of Aden. When considering what is hoped to be a decisive end to cargo ship hijackings by maritime pirates in the region, I say we must use every available means to make those waters safe for world commerce. I don't know about you, but I have always considered the taking of a sea-going vessel to be an overt act of war.

The whole world is eagerly watching to see how this saga shall finally play out. One thing is for sure, the clock is ticking down towards the demise of pirate profitability off the shores of Somalia. At this time, we might take pause to remember the indomitable words of Popeye the Sailor Man, who often uttered this statement when forced to take drastic and decisive action against obviously abusive behavior:

"That's all I can stands, and I can't stands no more."

In something that sounded straight out of the movies, the world learned Monday about the hijacking of the MV Sirius Star over the weekend. The oil-rich supertanker was attacked and hijacked by Somali pirates in deep water in a brazen move that left even Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, "stunned."

In addition to carrying about $100 million in cargo, the supertanker has a crew of 25 different nationals. It was seized on Saturday, far to the south of the NATO patrolled zone, about 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya, according to the U.S. Navy. The pirates took the ship to a Somali port known as a hub of pirate activity. The difference between this attack and other recent ones is that usually pirates attack within 200 miles of shore and go after much smaller vessels.

This is a cause of alarm since, as Navy commanders put it, it "represents a fundamental change in pirates' ability to hijack bigger vessels farther out at sea." It gets even scarier. If pirates have managed to attack this supertanker, there's no reason to believe they couldn't hijack LNG tankers. Liquefied natural gas is highly volatile and if a tanker explodes, it would equal fifty Hiroshimas. If an LNG tanker was hijacked, it could end up at the hands of terrorist.

Warren Buffett appears to be clearing out Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)'s portfolio of its PetroChina ADR (NYSE: PTR). shares. Berkshire actually owns the regular shares, not the ADRs. According to Reuters, Berkshire Hathaway has reduced its stake to about 3.1%, and since the required filings with the Security and Exchange Commission happen in the rears, Berkshire Hathaway may have disposed of all its shares by now.

When I posted Serious Money: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) cuts PetroChina (PTR) holdings again, I was under the impression that Buffett had maintained a sizable position in the stock. By most standards, this might still be the case, but as a percentage of what Berkshire held, it is clear now that it has decided to unload the stock, siding with its more vocal shareholders that it had no business supporting a company doing business with a Somalian Sudanese government which has demonstrated contempt for human rights and ignored international calls for change.

Although Buffett has been selling, and others may follow his lead, PetroChina shares remain up significantly for the year, and are near all-time highs now. PetroChina closed at $187.59 on Wednesday, climbing nearly 1% on the day.

Disclosure: I own both BRK.B and PTR.

To find potential opportunities and verify my track record, read Chasing Value or Serious Money.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm.

In the case of an oil company, fire is not exactly something you look upon favorably. But when it's the stock, you have to get excited. One of my stock picks for 2007 was PetroChina Co Ltd ADR (NYSE: PTR) and for the past two weeks it has been on fire.

Before I go further I must disclose we own PTR in three portfolios, buying in at $44, $55 and most recently at $120 this year. Today as I write this post it is over $180 per share so for a multitude of reasons it is making me look good.

I have been questioned numerous times about this stock holding given that "my pal Warren" -- Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) has been selling. According to the story he sold at an average price of $147 per share most recently. What few fail to mention is that he kept 90% of his shares. There are any number of reasons he took this action and those have not been shared.

In the meantime I have sold nothing. I did not buy it because Buffett bought it and I am not selling it just because he is reducing his shares. One pressure on Berkshire is that political ramifications of PetroChina doing business with the government of Somalia (and Darfur) has put questions into some shareholders' minds about whether it was immoral to hold PTR given the documented human rights violations in the region.

But how many oil producing nations today can be looked upon favorably? Almost none in the Middle East, given the standing of women, non-Muslims, political opposition, freedom of speech and many more severe atrocities. How about our friends the Russians or the Chinese? Would anyone nominate them for a congeniality award or glowing examples of democracy? No way! So the world is complex and sometimes you can do more by working from the inside with a whisper, then you can screaming from the outside.