Britons on board hijacked tanker

Somali pirates are taking a hijacked oil tanker with two Britons on board to a port in Somalia, the US Navy said today.

The Saudi-owned Sirius Star was hijacked on Saturday, 450 nautical miles south east of Mombasa, a spokesman for the US Navy said.

The large oil tanker is owned by Saudi oil company Aramco but was sailing under a Liberian flag.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office confirmed that two of those on board are British but could not give any details of their role on the ship.

He said: “We are seeking more information on the incident.”