Royal Navy hands over eight suspected pirates | Live piracy map

Pirates who hijacked an oil super tanker yesterday have begun to negotiate with the vessel’s owners and have taken the ship towards the Somali pirate haven of Eyl, the US Navy has said.

The Saudi-owned Sirius Star, which was carrying two million barrels of oil valued at $100 million was captured with its multi-national crew, including two Britons, 450 miles off the coast of Kenya on Sunday.

It remains under the control of pirates, a spokeswoman for the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet said. However crew members are "remaining safe", according to the ship's operating company Vela International.

"All 25 crew members are reported to be safe and the vessel is fully laden," said the spokesman. "A Vela response team has been established and is working to ensure the safe release of the crew members and the vessel."

A spokesman for the Foreign Office confirmed that two of those on board are British but could not give any details of their role on the ship.

He said: "We are seeking more information on the incident."

The 318,000-tonne tanker, three times the size of an aircraft carrier, is not only the largest ship yet to be hijacked by increasingly audacious pirates, but the furthest out to sea than any previous attacks.

Admiral Michael Mullen, the US' top military officer in the region said he was "stunned" by the reach of the Somali pirates.

"I'm stunned by the range of it, less so than I am the size," said Admiral Mullen. The pirates are "very good at what they do. They're very well armed. Tactically, they are very good," he said.

Its capture raises fears that international patrols nearer the coast and in the Gulf of Aden will not be enough to protect vital trade routes as pirate gangs become ever more audacious.

Sirius Star, which is owned by Saudi giant oil company Aramco, carried 25 crew members from Croatia, Britain, Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia, according to a US Navy statement.

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