One of the world's biggest shipping companies has announced that it is re-routing some of its fleet away from the Gulf of Aden because of the growing threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Danish-owned company AP Moller-Maersk says the move will mainly affect oil tankers.
The tankers will be sent around the entire coast of Africa instead of using the Suez Canal, adding thousands of kilometres to their journeys.
It comes after Somali pirates who hijacked a Saudi oil super-tanker demanded a $25m (€20m) ransom amid calls for tougher action to end threats to one of the world's key maritime routes.
The pirates set a 10-day deadline for the ransom payment for the ship they easily seized in 16 minutes.
'We are demanding 25 million dollars from the Saudi owners of the tanker. We do not want long-term discussions to resolve the matter,' a pirate who identified himself as Mohamed Said said from the ship.
'The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous,' he added.
The ship is now anchored at the Somali pirate lair of Harardhere.
It was seized at the weekend in the Indian Ocean some 500 miles (800km) off the coast of Kenya.
The Sirius Star tanker was loaded to capacity with 2m barrels of oil and is the biggest vessel to be seized by pirates so far.
Bid to combat piracy
The US, meanwhile, said it would be seeking support in the UN for a resolution to tighten international measures against Somali pirates.
Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo said the new text would 'extend the authorities' set out in an earlier resolution adopted in June.
The previous text called on nations possessing warships in the Gulf of Aden to help hunt down pirates with the agreement of the Somali government.
After the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) described the situation as 'out of control,' Arab Red Sea states meeting in Cairo yesterday pledged cooperation to end the threat - but offered few specifics.
Russia announced it would send more warships to combat piracy in the treacherous waters.
Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein warned that piracy will rage unless the world helps restore a functional government in Somalia, which collapsed after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Wednesday that the super-tanker's owners were in talks with the pirates, but the company that operates the vessel has remained tight-lipped about the claims of negotiations.
