30 Oct 2009

Somali pirates are demanding a ransom of $7 million to set free a British couple and $3.5 million for the release of a Greek ship they captured off the Somali coast.

The Chandler couple — Paul, 59, and Rachel, 55 — were sailing in their yacht the Lynn Rival last Friday when they were captured by pirates, according to Britain's Foreign Office.

A spokesman for the pirates in a taped voice released by the BBC said, "If they do not harm us, we will not harm them. We only need a little amount of seven million dollars".

The two Britons are thought to be held in a Singapore-flagged container ship called the Kota Wajar, which was seized by pirates two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the Somali pirates said on Thursday that they had agreed a ransom of $3.5 million for the release of Greek ship Ariana hijacked in May.

They said that they would release the ship once the ransom money is received.

The Ariana was seized on May 2 north of Madagascar en route to the Middle East from Brazil with 24 Ukrainian crew aboard. The Maltese-flagged ship belongs to All Oceans shipping in Greece.

presstv