Pirates anchor supertanker off Somalia

A hijacked supertanker carrying up to $100 million worth of crude oil, the largest vessel seized to date in an escalating regional piracy crisis was believed to have anchored off Somalia on Tuesday.The Sirius Star's crew of 25, including British, Croatian, Polish, Filipino and Saudi nationals, are reported to be safe.The Saudi-owned vessel was seized on Saturday more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya in what Saudi Arabia's foreign minister called "an outrageous act." The U.S. Navy said the tanker was now anchored off Haradhere, a village reported to be a piracy hub, 300 kilometres (180 miles) north of Mogadishu.

U.S. joins pursuit of pirates off Somalia

A U.S. destroyer and a Russian warship headed Saturday for a possible confrontation with pirates who hijacked a cargo ship carrying battle tanks, machine guns and a crew of 21.Though pursued by ships from two of the world's biggest naval powers, the pirates showed no sign of surrendering the Ukrainian vessel Faina, which they boarded Thursday off the Somali coast as it headed to Kenya. Instead, according to unconfirmed reports, they were demanding a $35-million ransom to turn over their unconventional booty, which includes 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks.