A High Court judge in London has declared that a Greek shipowner set fire to his own tanker off of the coast of Yemen in an elaborate fraud with the intent to collect $77 million in insurance proceeds. The shipowner allegedly coaxed the captain, engineer, a salvage company and several coast guard members to set flame to the tanker. The arson started with a bogus pirate attack, when 7 masked and armed assailants posing as security personnel boarded the ship. The men fired shots on the bridge of the ship and detonated an explosive device in the fuel purifier room which started a fire that spread to the engine room with the help of accelerants. The seven assailants left the ship, and an officer called a nearby U.S. Navy cruiser for help. The crew was evacuated and the above mentioned corrupt salvage company was called in to fight the fire. The fire gained strength and the ship was declared a total loss. The judge alleges that the group of armed men were given permission to board the vessel with the sole intent to set it on fire in an attempt by the owner to defraud the underwriters. The judge stated that there is no innocent explanation for the events that occurred.