'Pirates want $15 mln for Saudi ship'

Somali pirates holding a Saudi supertanker after the largest seizure in maritime history are asking for a $15 million ransom, an Islamist leader, citing associates of the hijackers.

Somali pirates holding a Saudi supertanker after the largest seizure in maritime history are asking for a $15 million ransom, an Islamist leader said on Monday, citing associates of the hijackers.

HT Image

The pirates had originally been quoted as wanting $25 million to release the Sirius Star, which has $100 million of oil and 25 crew on board. But Islamist spokesman Abdirahim Isse Adow, whose men are in the Haradheere area where the ship is being held offshore, said that had been reduced.

"Middlemen have given a $15 million ransom figure for the Saudi ship. That is the issue now," Adow told Reuters.