THE UK Government last night appealed to Somali pirates to release immediately the hijacked crew of a giant oil tanker, including two Britons, as it emerged that a cargo ship and a fishing vessel had also been seized in the Gulf of Aden in recent days.

Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth said the seizure at the weekend of the Saudi-owned Sirius Star oil tanker by pirates, 420 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, was of deep concern.

The vessel is the biggest ship ever hijacked, with a cargo of two million barrels of oil - a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily output - worth more than $100m.

Last night the US Navy confirmed the vessel had anchored off the coast of Somalia, near the port of Haradheere but Nato and the US Navy said there were no plans to intercept it.

Its Dubai-based owner, Vela International Marine Ltd, said its crew of 25 - including the tanker's chief engineer and second officer who are British - are safe. It said a response team had been mobilised to work towards the crew's "safe and speedy return".

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al Faisal, condemned the hijacking, comparing piracy to terrorism.

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