Saudi FM: Oil supertanker hijacking 'outrageous'

[November 18, 2008]  ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says the hijacking of a Saudi oil supertanker by Somali pirates is "an outrageous act."

The MV Sirius Star was seized Saturday off the Kenyan coast and was being taken to a Somali port.

Prince Saud Al-Faisal says in the Saudi government's first public comments on the hijacking that there is a need to fight piracy.

He said during a visit Tuesday to Athens that "piracy, like terrorism, is a disease which is against everybody, and everybody must address it together."

The tanker's owner says the ship is fully loaded with crude -- a cargo worth about $100 million. Its owners say the ship's 25 crew members are safe.

[Associated Press]

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