Pirates have seized a giant Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast and are steering it towards Somalia, the US Navy reports.

The US-bound tanker was captured on Saturday some 450 nautical miles (830km) south-east of Mombasa, and is now approaching the Somali port of Eyl.

The Sirius Star is carrying its full load of 2m barrels - more than one-quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output.

Its international crew of 25, including two Britons, is said to be safe.

Lt Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet, said the attack was "unprecedented".

According to the Navy, the ship is "nearing an anchorage point" at Eyl, a port often used by pirates based in Somalia's Puntland region.

War-torn Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991.

A BBC correspondent in Mombasa reports that this is the third tanker to have been hijacked in the region.

News of the attack raised crude oil prices on global markets following an earlier slump, Reuters news agency reported.

The capture of the tanker appears to mark a worrying new development, both in terms of the size of the ship and the fact it was attacked so far from the African coast.

Attacks on shipping off the Horn of Africa and Kenya by mainly Somali pirates seeking ransoms prompted foreign navies to send warships to the area this year.

A number of vessels and their crews have been held captive for months, including the Ukrainian freighter MV Faina, seized in September.

'Crew safe'

The supertanker was heading for the US via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, Reuters reports.

The route around the Cape of Good Hope is a main thoroughfare for fully-laden supertankers from the Gulf, the world's biggest oil-exporting region.

With a capacity of 318,000 dead weight tonnes, the ship is 330m (1,080ft) long and is classed as a Very Large Crude Carrier.

It is about as long as a US aircraft carrier and, when loaded, weighs more than three times as much.

"It's the largest ship that we've seen pirated," said Lt Christensen.

The South Korean-built Sirius Star, owned by the Saudi company Aramco, made its maiden voyage in March 2008.

The ship's operator, Vela International, said that all of the crew were reported to be safe.

"Vela response teams have been mobilised and are working to ensure the safe release of crew members and the vessel," it added.

Confirming that two Britons were aboard the tanker, the UK Foreign Office said it could not give any details of their role on the ship.

"We are seeking more information on the incident," a spokesman said.

The other crew are said to be from Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

Captive vessels

Figures from the International Maritime Bureau show that attacks in the area - the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off the African coast - have made up one-third of all piracy incidents worldwide in 2008.

In the first nine months of the year 63 incidents were reported.

As of 30 September, 12 vessels remained captive and under negotiation with more than 250 crew being held hostage.

Pirates remain active and regularly strike in the region. In the past week alone:

• A Russian warship in the Gulf of Aden drove off pirates who tried to capture the Saudi Arabian merchant ship Rabih

• Pirates hijacked a Japanese cargo ship off Somalia

• A Chinese fishing boat was seized off the Kenyan coast

• A Turkish ship transporting chemicals to India was hijacked off Yemen

• The UK's Royal Navy shot dead two suspected pirates attacking a Danish cargo-ship off the coast of Yemen

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"If you're going through hell, keep going". Winston Churchill

A British ship has narrowly escaped being hijacked by Somali pirates who launched a series of attacks following their capture of a Saudi supertanker.

The British tanker Trafalgar was suddenly surrounded in the Gulf of Aden by at least eight speedboats. It radioed for help and a German frigate patrolling 12 miles away despatched a Sea Lynx helicopter.

The German navy said that the pirates fled at high speed as the helicopter loomed down on them.

The incident came as the owners of the Sirius Star, the Saudi supertanker captured at the weekend off the Kenyan coast, said that its crew, including two Britons, had not been harmed.

The ship has dropped anchor off Somalia and negotiations opened between the owners and the pirates, who are growing increasingly organised and sophisticated with every multi-million-dollar ransom they secure.

Laden with two million barrels of Saudi crude oil worth more than £60 million, is the biggest ship ever seized by Somali pirates.

But the intense international attention focused on the supertanker did nothing to deter fresh attacks.

They struck again off the Horn of Africa, seizing a Chinese trawler and a cargo ship from Hong Kong. An Ethiopian ship was also nearly captured but the German navy again managed to avert the attempted hijacking.

It suggested that Somali pirates are growing in confidence and do not feel deterred by an international naval task force under the Nato and European Union flags that includes US and British vessels.

The spate of attacks led Saud al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, to describe piracy as "a disease'' and experts warned that parts of the Indian Ocean previously regarded as beyond the reach of raiders are no longer safe.

With the US navy monitoring the position of the Sirius Star, one of the largest vessels plying the oceans, official confirmation of her mooring came from an official inside the divided, failed state of Somalia.

"We have been receiving some information and we now know that the ship is anchored near Harardhere,'' said Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, an advisor to the president of Somalia's breakaway state of Puntland.

Harardhere a well known haunt of Somali pirates, south of their stronghold port of Eyl.

Salah B. Ka'aki, president of Dubai-based Vela International Marine which operates the Sirius Star and is owned by Saudi Arabia's state oil company, said its priority was the safety of the ship's crew of 25.

They comprise two from Britain, two from Poland, a Croatian, a Saudi and 19 from the Philippines. They are believed to be unharmed.

"Our first and foremost priority is ensuring the safety of the crew," said Mr Ka'aki.

"We are in communication with their families and are working toward their safe and speedy return.''

The company has set up an incident room to co-ordinate the response to the incident and it is being run by a British merchant sailor, Captain John Sparkhall.

Initial contact has been made with the pirates who are expected to demand a substantial ransom of several million pounds.

While Saudi officials have demanded that the pirates are dealt with by military force, commanders of the task force in the region gave no hint of possible action, preferrign to retain the initiative.

Shipping owners often pay substantial ransoms to free their crew, cargo and ship when seized. But in a sign that Western government will not simply cave in to pressure to the maritime criminal gangs, the Royal Navy handed Kenyan authorities eight pirates captured last week when a British vessel prevented an attack on a Danish ship. They are due to face prosecution.

Crude oil prices jumped immediately after the hijacking emerged on Monday, but then fell back in relief as traders accepted that the hijacking would not cause much disruption to oil supplies.

The greatest knock on effect is likely to be in the cost of insurance, which had already soared eaerlier this year as the number of hijackings escalated.

But the attack on the Sirius Star could also spur shipping companies to strengthen security, introducing armed guards, or change routes to sail around the Cape of Good Hope rather through the Suez Canal

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"If you're going through hell, keep going". Winston Churchill

the situation seems quite dire. many shipping companies are rerouting their routes because of the pirates, and this affects directly to the economy not to mention the oil prises mentioned.
... which again makes me think that thease "pirates" are probably funded by al-qaida.

as they have grown bold as Spike says, what would be needed is number of fast attack craft
similar to our Hamina Class in weaponry and speed patrolling the area. well a bit less
would do nicely. thease things are not solved with bulky war machines or ill-equipped
rowboats aither.

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and i know there are pirates but they seem to being gettin more active these days

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Army National Guard Military Police Soldier

If not Al Queda then people of that ilk, indirect funding so to speak

They are funded by Muslim groups and any one of Al Queda branches...I posted on this a few weeks back.... it will just become another part of the war ..it has an easy solution really....but its pretty clever on there point...If they want to play them games in that part of the world I say a we hit them with a complete naval blockade...notthing gets in and nothing gets out without our say so.....this affects the whole international community

Whats the point of stretching resources to cover from the north to the south when we can concentrate our efforts to one area

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Hi Ho Hi Ho

They're funded by the ransoms being paid. It isn't a religious war its piracy!

Youre right, but jrj is right also, there is money siffling off in large amounts into Islmac Terrorist coffers, given the proximity of somalia to these groups and the obvious affliliation of the gangs there, its a near certainty that this is the case.


The International Communitiy will have to invest in a Naval Blockade and air strikes, if the Pirates like the old days raise their heads, they get taken by a wareship or in these modern days, an airstrike, their harbours are hit, their lines hit, their feckin boldness incinerated by Air and Sea Power... how on earth can a bunch of gangbangers (well armed might I add) do so much damage??.... 25 million??... that should be the used in muinitions for taking them down...

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"Barrel High, Powder Dry!"

"Illic est haud effrego ex Veneratio"

I dont agree....the ramsoms are one thing but I see their actions as one symptom of the main disease.... at the end of the day I think a naval blockage should be SOP...we are stetching our resourses up and down the east coast of Africa......theres no need ......
We have a right to secrue routes

choke the main area of operations......I know a blockade is an act of war but we should stop playing games because they are clearly not

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Hi Ho Hi Ho

Agreed! This is something even the Russians can come in on. Its in all our interests. 1 carrier with support ships would do it. These UAV's are perfect for monitoring the suspect ships / boats at low cost. Like you say its ridiculous that we're being held to Ransom by a bunch of cut throats.