And Hannes Smarason of FL Group fame personal debts to Landsbankinn amount to half the IceSave amount owed to the Brits and the Dutch according to the latest calculations. Of course without proper collateral or what?

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The contract signed yesterday allows Nordic tax authorities access to information on taxes paid and deposits made by Nordic citizens in the Bahamas and will help them track and assess those trying to hide taxable assets overseas.

The contract is the latest in a joint Nordic campaign against tax fraud and was signed at the Danish Embassy in Paris yesterday.

The project has been enthusiastically endorsed by the OECD and has strengthened the position of the Nordic nations on the world stage, RUV reports.

Since project negotiations began in 2007, similar contracts have come into force with Aruba, Andorra, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, the Antilles, the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, the Cook Islands, Samoa and San Marino.

Denmark has also independently signed similar contracts with St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadine, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.

The UBT Ocean sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, but is owned by Broevigtank in Norway. At the time of its capture, the vessel, whose crew are all of Burmese origin, was transporting oil to Tanzania from the United Arab Emirates. The boarding of the ship took place off the East African coast outside of the Seychelles archipelago, near Madagascar. According to Broevigtank the UBT Ocean had been sailing a course well to the south of the area where Somali pirates are known to operate. Greater naval patrols around the Gulf of Aden are believed to be forcing Somali pirates further south.

Norway Post reveals that no reports have been received of any injury or harm to the crew, and the pirates have not made any ransom claims as yet. Managing Director and CEO of Broevigtank, Svenn Pedersen confirmed that the hijacking took place around 300 miles (500km) from the ship’s intended destination. “The captain made contact saying pirates were on board and then the contact was cut off. Nothing has been heard from the ship since then,” said Pedersen.

Edward Ion, a spokesperson for the 9,000 tonne ship’s technical manager, Singapore-based Ship Management Associates, said attempts to re-establish contact with the UBT Ocean have been unsuccessful.

Social Democrat and Left Green sources contacted by Frettabladid believe the easiest way to reinforce the government is to get Ogmundur Jonasson back into the cabinet.

Jonasson resigned from the position of Minister for Health last year as he felt unable to support his party’s line on Icesave; but as the issue has since changed so dramatically, sources claim his return to government is already in the works and could happen shortly after Easter. Aside from the Icesave issue, Jonasson has remained a loyal, and outspoken, Left Green Movement member and an MP.

According to Frettabladid, Social Democrats within government are also enthusiastic about the move because Jonasson is a unifying force within the Green Party that some currently see as two separate parties in all but name.

The paper reports that Jonasson himself has not been pushing to return; but if the expected cabinet reshuffle happens, Jonasson’s place in it, once again as health minister, seems likely. Another possible option is for the two unelected cabinet members drafted in during the crisis to be replaced by Jonasson and a Social Democrat.

Ogmundur Jonasson became Minister for Health in the minority caretaker government from 1st February last year and kept his post after the election in April, but resigned on 20th September. Despite publicly having resigned his position, he told media at the time that it felt more as if he had been forced out.