Somali pirates demand ransom for Sirius Star
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Somali pirates who hijacked the Saudi oil super-tanker Sirius Star have demanded a ransom, a man presented on Al-Jazeera television as one of the authors of the attack said on Wednesday. "Negotiators are located on board the ship and on land. Once they have agreed on the ransom, it will be taken in cash to the oil tanker," said the man identified as Farah Abd Jameh, who did not indicate the amount to be paid.
"We assure the safety of the ship that carries the ransom. We will mechanically count the money and we have machines that can detect fake money," the man said on an audio tape produced by the Dubai-based television network.
The message came as Foreign Secretary David Miliband called for the immediate release of the hijacked crew of a giant oil tanker - including two Britons - after the vessel anchored off the coast of Somalia.
Mr Miliband said the problem of piracy in the region was "a grave danger to the stability in the region".
His remarks came as it emerged pirates had captured two other vessels in separate incidents - bringing the number of ships seized in the area to eight in the past two weeks.