Saudi tanker hijacked by pirates

Bosasso: A hijacked Saudi supertanker with an oil cargo of $100 million was believed to be anchored off the coast of Somalia, the shipping arm of state oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Tuesday.

"All 25 crew members on board are believed to be safe," Vela International said in a statement. " At this time, Vela is awaiting further contact from the pirates in control of the vessel."

Vela said there were two British, two Polish, one Croatian, one Saudi and 19 Philippines nationals on the ship

Pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker begun negotiations with the vessel's owners the US navy said on Tuesday.

The Sirius Star has a 25 member crew from Croatia, Britain, Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

A Nairobi-based Somalia specialist described the hijacking as the biggest the world has seen. "The world has never seen anything like this...The Somali pirates have hit the jackpot."

The US navy, which broke news of Sirius' capture and said it was en route to Somalia, could not confirm its location on Tuesday. "The ship is still transiting," said a spokesman.

The Sirius is owned and operated by Saudi Aramco's shipping unit Vela International and has a capacity to carry two million barrels of crude oil.