British Sirius Star crew speak

26/11/2008

The two officers onboard the hijacked oil tanker Sirius Star have spoken to the British media for the first time.

During a phonecall made to ITN, chief engineer Peter French said that the pirates onboard the Saudi vessel had not been treating them badly.

"Hopefully we are going to get some more phone calls to our families soon. Our families don't have too much to worry about at the moment ... we are not too badly off," he said.

The vessel, which is carrying two hundred million barrels of oil, was seized by Somali pirates ten days ago.

After the attack, crude oil prices rose as investors grew fearful about supply, with effects on derivatives such as heating oil also felt.

The hijacking was the latest in a series of hijackings around the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia.

The Guardian noted that there have been six attacks in the region this year alone, with four separate incidences occurring in September.