Tanker owners in ransom talks

2008-11-19 19:05

Rome - The owners of a hijacked Saudi super-tanker with a $100m oil cargo are in negotiations over a possible ransom payment, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"I know that the owners of the tanker, they are negotiating on the issue. We do not like to negotiate with either terrorists or hijackers. But the owners of the tanker, they are the final arbiters of what happens there," Prince Saud al-Faisal said in response to a question about a ransom.

Prince Saud, who is visiting Italy, had been asked whether he could confirm a report from a Somali website that the attackers were demanding $250m ransom, and whether he believed a ransom should be paid.

The Sirius Star became the biggest ship ever hijacked on Saturday when Somali pirates seized it 450 miles southeast of Mombasa.

It was believed to be anchored near Eyl, a former Somali fishing village that is now a well-defended pirate base.

A spokesperson for the tanker's owners, Saudi Aramco, has said the company hopes to hear from the hijackers on Wednesday.

- Reuters