Negotiations underway for release of Saudi oil tanker
21/11/2008 17:50
Talks are underway for the release of a Saudi-owned oil supertanker
hijacked by Somali pirates last weekend, a regional maritime official confirmed
today.
Andrew Mwangura of the East Africa's Seafarers Assistance Program
(SAP), however, said he does not know the levels of the negotiations which are
aimed at seeking the release of the vessel.
"Negotiations are underway but I
don't know the levels they have reached," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone
today.
Media reports said the pirates are asking for US$25 million in ransom
for the Saudi supertanker seized off the East African coast, and have called on
its owners to pay up "soon".
"What we want for this ship is only US$25
million because we always charge according to the quality of the ship and the
value of the product," a man who identified himself as Abdi Salan, a member of
the hijacking gang, reportedly said from Harardhare, in Somalia's
semi-autonomous northern Puntland region close to where the ship is
anchored.
The ransom demands came as officials from the Arab League held a
meeting in Cairo yesterday to discuss how to better protect vital shipping lanes
and condemned the hijacking, stating that piracy by Somalis was a result of the
deteriorating political and humanitarian situation in the country.
Egypt has
been particularly threatened by the increase in attacks, as fees collected for
travel through the Suez Canal are an important source of national revenue. One
of Europe's largest shipping companies already has said it will reroute some oil
tankers around the Gulf of Aden and the canal to reduce the piracy risk.
The
Sirius Star, which belongs to Saudi Arabia's state-owned shipping line, Vela
International Marine Limited, was seized along with its crew of 25 last
week.
The 25 captive crew on the Sirius Star include 19 Filipinos, two
British citizens, two Poles, one Croatian, and one Saudi national.
Analysts
said the ransom may be the highest sum demanded by pirates from war-torn
Somalia, which has not had an effective government since 1991.
The analysts
say the pirates who seized the tanker are a sophisticated group with contacts in
Dubai and neighboring countries.
Much of their ransom money from previous
hijackings has been used to buy new boats and weapons as well as develop a
network across the Horn of Africa.
The pan African body, the African Union
(AU), has urgently called on the United Nations to send peacekeepers to Somalia
to stop the strife which it says is fuelling piracy and is aggravated by feuding
politicians.
Reports said the escalated attacks in Somali waters this year
have sharply driven up insurance costs for shipping companies, and even made
some companies divert cargo around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
Since
January, at least 91 vessels have been attacked in the Gulf of Aden, an area
almost twice the size of Alaska flanked by Yemen and Somalia.
The hijacking
of the Saudi ship was the most brazen assault yet, as it was the largest seized
and was the farthest from the coast when attacked.
Xinhua
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