Shipping firms have called for aggressive military action to stop piracy [AFP]

But the captors of the Sirius Star have no plans to destroy the boat, a member of the pirate gang told the AFP news agency on Saturday.

"I hope the owner of the tanker is wise enough and will not allow any military option because that would be disastrous for everybody. We are here to defend the tanker if attacked," Abdiyare Moalim said.

At least 10 armed men joined the pirates on board the tanker, which anchored off Harardheere with its 25 crew on Tuesday.

The pirates have demanded a $25m ransom for the Sirius Star, which was carrying more than two million barrels of oil valued at $100m when it was captured.

Pirates hunted

The pirates' vow to defend the vessel comes a day after Somali fighters opposed to the country's interim government entered Haradheere looking for the group.

"I think that is the only solution," Martin Jensen, the acting chief executive officer of Oslo-based Frontline Ltd, said on Friday.

Some analysts have suggested that opposition fighters benefit from arms shipments and income gained through piracy.

The groups have denied the allegations and point to the decrease in maritime attacks during the Islamic Court Union's brief control of large parts of the country in 2006.

Piracy plague

At least three other ships have been taken since the Sirius Star was captured last Saturday, and more than a dozen vessels with about 280 sailors on board are being held in Somali waters.

More than 120 attacks have been reported off the coast of Somalia this year.

More Somalis were becoming involved in piracy every day because of the money that can be made from the ransoms paid by ship owners.

The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) has called for international action to tackle the situation.

"We need immediate action from governments to protect these vital trade lanes - robust action in the form of greater naval and military support with a clear mandate to engage, to arrest pirates and to bring them to trial," Intertanko said.

Many operators are considering sending their vessels around the tip of South Africa to avoid pirates, it said.
 
'Negative repercussions'

Efthimios Mitropoulos, the head of the International Maritime Organisation, spoke of "a series of negative repercussions" if ships had to reroute.
  
He said going around the Cape added about 12 days to a typical Gulf-to-Europe voyage, delaying oil supplies, and potentially raising freight rates by 25 to 30 per cent.
  
Mitropoulos said the UN Security Council should strengthen the mandate of anti-piracy forces with "clear rules of engagement" and force states to bring to justice any pirates they capture.

Nato sent four warships into the Gulf of Aden last month to prevent piracy and escort aid vessels, while a European Union anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia is set to begin on December 8.

Several other nations, including Russia and India, also have navy vessels working to protect shipping in the area.

The Security Council on Thursday voted unanimously to impose sanctions on pirates, arms smugglers and other people involved in fuelling the instability in Somalia, which has been without a functioning central government since 1991.

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