Pirates seize Russians, British man off Somalia

Pirates in Somalia have captured the Russian crew and British captain of a ship sailing off the Horn of Africa, a spokesman for the vessel's owner said.

Four Russian crew members, an Irish chief engineer and a British captain were aboard the Svitzer Korsakov, an ice-class tug vessel, when it was seized on Friday as it was making its way to Russia's Pacific Coast.

"We have been in contact with the master (of the ship), and subsequently also with the pirates," said Patrick Adamson, a spokesman for Svitzer, the Danish firm that owns the ship.

"What we have heard is that they are unharmed, they have got food, water and are getting some sleep. Morale is good," he said by telephone from London.

Adamson declined to comment on whether the pirates had made any demands. "Discretion will be of the utmost importance to the safety of the crew," he said.

Piracy has been rife in the waters off Somalia since warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. But attacks have reached unprecedented levels due to instability onshore as the country's interim government battles insurgents. The U.S. State Department calls it the "preferred venue" for pirate attacks in the region.

The 34.5 metre (113 ft) Svitzer Korsakov was on its maiden voyage when it put out a distress call early on Friday. The owners made contact with the ship by radio telephone on Sunday afternoon, Adamson said.

The ship was on its way from Russia's northern city of St Petersburg via Singapore to Russia's Sakhalin island, an icy former prison colony on the country's Pacific coast, where it was supposed to service the oil industry.

Ransom demands are normally determined by the size of the ship, its cargo and the nationalities of its crew, experts say.

In August, Danish media said Somali pirates freed a Danish cargo ship, the MV Danica White, and its five Danish sailors after a security company paid a $1.5 million ransom.