Somali pirates demand 25 mn dollars for Saudi oil tanker

NAIROBI: Somali pirates who hijacked Saudi oil super-tanker Sirius Star on Thursday are demanding 25 million dollars in ransom and have set a 10-day deadline, one of the pirates said.

"We are demanding 25 million dollars from the Saudi owners of the tanker. We do not want long-term discussions to resolve the matter," Mohamed Said told AFP from the ship anchored off the Somali coast.

"The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous," Said added, without elaborating.