2:36pm UK, Thursday November 20, 2008

Somali pirates who hijacked the Saudi-owned Sirius Star supertanker are demanding $25m (£17m) in ransom to be paid within 10 days.

Sirius Star is largest ship to be taken by Somali pirates

“We do not want long-term discussions to resolve the matter,” one of the pirates Mohammed Said told AFP news agency.

He warned: “The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous.”

International frustration is growing over the situation described by the International Maritime Bureau as “out of control”.

Russia has announced it intends to send more warships to patrol the waters around Somalia.

Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, top commander of the Russian navy, made the announcement according to a report by RIA Novosti news agency.

“This is needed because of the situation that has developed in the vicinity of the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden, where Somali pirates have sharply increased their activities,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, has called for an international ground military operation to better combat rampant piracy in the region.

African Union commission chief Jean Ping said the surge in piracy was a result of worsening security in Somalia.

In a statement, Mr Ping called for “stronger and more co-ordinated efforts” to return stability to Somalia, “including a rapid deployment of a United Nations peace force”.

Saudi Arabia‘s foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal has said the ship’s owners are in talks with the pirates but the company that operates the vessel has remained tight-lipped about the claims of negotiations.

Seized at the weekend in the Indian Ocean some 500 miles off the coast of Kenya, the Sirius Star is the largest ship to be taken by Somali pirates.

It is now anchored at the Somali pirate port of Harardhere.

The supertanker was loaded to capacity with two million barrels of oil when it was captured along with its crew of 25 – 19 from the Philippines, two from Britain, two from Poland, one Croatian and one Saudi.

Britain’s foreign secretary David Miliband has said ransom payments to pirates will only encourage further hostage-taking.

On Tuesday, The Indian frigate INS Tabar, one of dozens of warships from several countries protecting commercial shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, sank one of the pirate’s ships after coming under fire.

The incident came as shipping groups reported a new surge in hijackings off Somalia, with three captured since the Sirius Star was taken.