Somali Pirates to Reduce Ransom for Sirius Star

Pirates commanding the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star may have reduced the ransom payment they are demanding to $15m (£10m).

The Somali pirates were originally believed to have requested $25m for the release of the tanker and its crew of 25 Brits, Poles, Croats, Saudis and Filipinos, who are being held hostage.

The taking of Sirius Star, which has 2 million barrels of oil on board worth $100m, was the largest hijacking in maritime history.

On Friday a pirate, who called himself Mohammad Said, told Agence France-Presse via satellite phone that the supertankers' owner, Vela International, would face "disastrous" consequences if it did not pay $25m within 10 days.

"We do not want long-term discussions to resolve this matter," he said.

But today Abdirahim Isse Adow, of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist militia whose men are in the Harardheere area where the ship is being held offshore, told Reuters that the asking price had been reduced.

"Middle men have given a $15m ransom figure for the Saudi ship. That is the issue now," he said.

There have been other unconfirmed reports that the Sirius Star pirates were considering "some type of ransom reduction".

Andrew Mwanguara, the coordinator of the Mombasa-based East Africa Seafarers Programme, said his sources were confirming a reduced $15m demand.

Vela International, a subsidiary of the state oil company Saudi Aramco, has not commented on the claim and Adow's intervention should be treated with caution.

Adow has said some men were out to confront the pirates and release the Saudi supertanker because it was "Muslim".

"We are against this act and we shall hunt the ship wherever it sails, and free it," he said. "It has moved about 100km far into the sea to escape from us."

But ICU's motives have been questioned. Islamists fighting the Somali government and its Ethopian allies have publicly denounced piracy, but analysts suggest some factions are intent on taking a share of the multi-million dollar sums flooding Somalia's coastal areas following hijackings.

Locals believe Adow's men could be seeking a cut of any payout from the owners.

David Miliband, the foreign secretary, has discouraged paying a ransom to the pirates. "Payments for hostage-taking are only an encouragement to further hostage taking," he said.

But payouts to pirates are common, amid growing concern about the impact of Somali piracy on shipping routes through the Gulf of Aden, and several countries, including Britain, are sending warships into the area.

Around 17 foreign ships with more than 250 crew members are believed to be under the pirates' control off the Horn of Africa, including a Ukrainian cargo vessel carrying 33 tanks.

The taking of the Sirius Star on November 15 remains the most audacious hijacking to date, and analysts will follow the outcome of ransom negotiations closely.