Six pirates drown leaving freed Saudi supertanker

Six Somalian pirates drowned on leaving freed Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star nearly two months after it was captured off the east African coast, their leader told AFP Saturday.

"Six of our boys perished at the sea while coming from the released Saudi supertanker" Mohamed Said said by telephone from Harardhere, 300 kilometres (200 miles) north of Mogadishu.

Their boat had capsized after freeing the vessel and its crew, he said. Four other pirates had also gone missing after the kidnapping ended, he added.

"The small boat that was carrying those killed and eight who survived was overloaded and at high speed as we are told by the survivors; they were afraid of a chase from outsiders (foreign navies of the Combined Maritime Forces) who invaded Somalia waters," he said.

Part of the ransom paid to free the tanker -- 300,000 dollars -- had also been on the boat and was now missing.

Haradhere resident Mohamud Aden told AFP the capsize was an accident.

"The pirates were full of joy and partially frightened by the presence of foreign war machines and overspeeding," he said. "That was a tragedy for the pirates."

The 330-metre Sirius Star, owned by the shipping arm of oil giant Saudi Aramco, was seized far off the east African coast on November 15, in what was the pirates' most daring attack and largest catch to date.

It was still moored off Harardhere on Saturday.

The amount of the ransom paid for the ship's release was not known. Pirates had told AFP days after seizing the tanker they wanted 25 million dollars (18 million euros) for its release.

Sources close to the negotiations said three million dollars were delivered to the pirate group onshore on Thursday. A dispute briefly erupted between the pirates over how the ransom money should be distributed.

The crew of the Sirius Star is made up of 25 people from Britain, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Poland, where the ship's captain hails from.

Pirates operating off Somalia's coast, in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, have carried out more than 130 attacks in 2008 alone, turning the region into the world's most dangerous waters.