Negotiations continue with hijackers of Dubai-owned tanker
Somali pirates who hijacked the Dubai-owned super-tanker, Sirius Star, have allegedly demanded a cash ransom in return for the ship and its crew.
The oil-laden vessel, which was last night anchored off the coast of Somalia, is carrying 25 crew members who are said to be unharmed.
"Negotiators are onboard the ship and on land," a man identifying himself as Farah Abd Jameh, a member of the group that hijacked the tanker, said in an audio tape aired by Dubai-based Al Jazeera television.
"Once they agree on the ransom, it will be taken in cash to the oil tanker."
The pirates' representative didn't say how much money his group wanted for the Sirius Star, which was anchored near Harardhare, a town in Somalia's semi-autonomous northern Puntland region.
He added: "We assure the safety of the ship carrying the ransom. "We will mechanically count the money and we have machines that can detect fake money."
The supertanker is owned and operated by Dubai-based Vela International Marine Limited, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco.
A spokesman for Vela told 7DAYS he could not confirm the ransom demand.
He said: "I know there are a number of rumours and sources flying around out there but Vela won't be making a statement on them.
"At this time our priority is the safety of the Sirius Star's crew members."
The tanker is carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil valued at $110 million.
It was hijacked on Sunday by armed pirates in the Indian Ocean - 420 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia - but far south of the zone patrolled by international warships in the busy Gulf of Aden.
The crew consists of two Britons, two Poles, one Croat, one Saudi and 19 Filipinos.
The Sirius Star, bigger than the Chrysler Building in Manhattan, is the largest ship pirates have seized, and the farthest out to sea they have successfully struck.
Analysts say the chances of a military response are slim.
The alleged ransom demand came as two more ships were seized by Somali pirates in as many days: a Greek bulk carrier and a Thai fishing boat, despite an increased international naval presence on waters off their lawless country.
Also yesterday, an Indian warship destroyed a pirate "mother vessel" in the Gulf of Aden after a fierce battle.
By Paul McLennan
© 7Days 2008
