Hijack on high seas: Talks on with pirates

The owners of the recently hijacked oil supertanker are negotiating with the pirates that are holding it, the Saudi foreign minister said yesterday.

The MV Sirius Star was seized along with 25 crew members off the Kenyan coast on Saturday and has been taken to a pirate strong-hold off the Somali coast. The ship’s oil cargo alone is estimated to be worth $100 million (Dh367 million).

Asked if a ransom had been demanded, Prince Saud Al Faisal, Saudi Foreign Minister, said: "I know that the owners of the tanker are negotiating on the issue. We do not like to negotiate with either terrorists or hijackers." In past piracy cases, ship owners have often ended up paying ransoms for their ships, cargos and crew.

Prince Saud also reiterated his country’s intention to take part in an international initiative against piracy in the Red Sea area, where more than 80 pirate attacks have been recorded this year.

Two of the captive crew on the Sirius Star are British.

Peter French, who is married with a 17-year-old daughter, is the chief engineer on board the vessel. The other is James Grady, from Strathclyde, the BBC said.

Meanwhile, an Indian warship dedicated to fighting pirates, destroyed a suspected pirate ship that had opened fire in the Gulf of Aden late on Tuesday. Naval officers saw men roaming the ship’s deck with rocket propelled grenade launchers and guns, an official release said.

Somalia’s coast has been burdened by piracy attacks. Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off Somalia’s coast last year.

Yemeni Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Al Ayashi said that Arab countries on the Red Sea should increase their cooperation to combat piracy in the Horn of Africa area.

The capture of the Saudi ship has brought renewed world attention to an area which has been infested by armed pirates. Regular supply of food, cigarettes and drinks from the Somalia town of Haradhere is keeping the pirates going.