Somali pirates seize Russian oil tanker

Somali pirates seized control of an oil-laden Russian tanker in the Gulf of Aden early yesterday, setting up a high-seas stand-off with a Russian destroyer steaming to the zone.

The 230-metre-long Moscow University was heading east from the Gulf of Aden early yesterday when it was boarded by pirates around 350 nautical miles off the Yemeni coast, the EU anti-piracy mission said.

The ship's Russian operator said the tanker had been on its way to China from the Red Sea with 86,000 tonnes of crude oil, believed to be worth around $50 million.

The anti-piracy mission Navfor said the Marshal Shaposhnikov, a large Russian warship with two helicopters and an infantry unit aboard, was rushing to the hijack zone. The warship is part of the Russian fleet deployment to the international task force.

The 23 all-Russian crew of the Moscow University were unharmed, the ship's operators Novoship said.

"According to the latest information received from the master none of the 23 seafarers on board have been hurt, the vessel and the cargo sustained no damage," said Novoship, adding that communications with the vessel had been cut at 0450 GMT.

It said the attack began around 50 minutes earlier when the pirates opened fire and tried to board the vessel. The captain managed to inform naval forces in the region before his radio was silenced.

A company spokesman said later yesterday that the pirates had yet to make a ransom demand. "No aggressor has made contact with us since the attack. No claims have been made," the Interfax news agency quoted the spokesman as saying.

"For the moment, it's too soon to make statements on what means to implement to free the ship. We are not commenting either on questions concerning the payment of a possible ransom, given that no demand has been made," he added.