Royal Navy hands over eight suspected pirates | Live piracy map

The Saudi Royal Family condemned Somali pirates as terrorists today after losing $100 million worth of oil in an audacious heist that saw bandits seize a supertanker in the Arabian Sea.

The Sirius Star, which was carrying two million barrels of oil, a quarter of the Kingdom's daily output, was captured with its multi-national crew, including two Britons, 450 miles off the coast of Kenya on Sunday.

The hijack was the biggest ever act of piracy in the perilous shipping lanes off the east coast of Africa. Vela International, the ship’s owners, said today that the crew were safe and that their response team was awaiting further contact with the gang.

The furious Saudi foreign minister said the banditry was akin to terrorism and demanded an international crackdown on the pirates.

Prince Saud Al-Faisal said: “Piracy, like terrorism, is a disease which is against everybody, and everybody must address it together.

“This outrageous act by the pirates, I think, will only reinforce the resolve of the countries of the Red Sea and internationally to fight piracy,”

The prince suggested that several nations in the Red Sea region were willing to form a coalition to combat the ascendency of pirates in the Gulf of Aden and surrounding waters.

Last month, the UN Security Council unanimously approved resolutions calling on nations to send naval ships and military aircraft to Somalia’s coastline, and allowing foreign powers to enter Somali waters to fight piracy

A Nato flotilla of seven ships including a British frigate are already fighting piracy around Somalia. Nato, however, says its priority is escorting World Food Programme ships that deliver basic rations for three million hungry Somalis.

According to witnesses the 1,000ft hijacked ship was anchored overnight just off the lawless Somali coast. It was spotted less than three miles from the town of Harardhere, which is around 265 miles from the pirate haven of Eyl.

Abdinur Haji, a fisherman who lives near Harardhere, which is a pirate stronghold in itself, said: “As usual, I woke up at 3am and headed for the sea to fish, but I saw a very, very large ship anchored less than three miles off the shore.

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