This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/8385845.stm
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Somali pirates seize super tanker | Somali pirates seize super tanker |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Somali pirates have captured a tanker carrying oil to the US, officials say. | Somali pirates have captured a tanker carrying oil to the US, officials say. |
| The Greek-owned Maran Centaurus was about 1,300km (800 miles) off the coast of Somalia when it was hijacked on Sunday, said the EU Naval task force. | The Greek-owned Maran Centaurus was about 1,300km (800 miles) off the coast of Somalia when it was hijacked on Sunday, said the EU Naval task force. |
| The ship weighs some 300,000 tonnes and is believed to be one of the largest yet seized by Somali pirates. There are 28 crew members on board. | The ship weighs some 300,000 tonnes and is believed to be one of the largest yet seized by Somali pirates. There are 28 crew members on board. |
| Pirate attacks have been common off the Somali coast and international navies have been deployed to counter them. | Pirate attacks have been common off the Somali coast and international navies have been deployed to counter them. |
| A spokesman for the Greek coastguard told Reuters news agency that about nine armed pirates attacked the ship close to the Seychelles. | A spokesman for the Greek coastguard told Reuters news agency that about nine armed pirates attacked the ship close to the Seychelles. |
| The taskforce said the ship had been heading for New Orleans in the US from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia but was now heading towards Somalia. | |
| Its crew is made up of 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and one Romanian. | |
| An EU naval spokesman told the BBC 11 vessels and 264 crew members were currently being held in Somalia. | |
| In November 2008, the Sirius Star, carrying 2m barrels of oil - a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - became the largest ship ever seized by pirates. It weighs 318,000 tonnes. | |
| The vessel was released in January after a ransom of $3m (then £1.95m) was paid. |