Somali pirates STILL holding for ransom a Saudi oil supertanker off the coast of East Africa have telephoned in their urgent demands. In addition to a year’s supply of Everlasting Gobstoppers, three hogsheads of uranium and an exact replica of Lord Byron’s lost canto, they would also like “only” $25 million “soon.” Which is a very reasonable request when you stop to consider the delicate intricacies of the iron-clad “Pirates’ Code of Ethics for Stolen Property,” kindly elucidated for us here by one member of the hijacking crew (and, it seems, self-appointed pirate spokesman).

Somali pirates demanded $25 million in ransom for an oil-laden Saudi supertanker seized off the East African coast, and called on its owners to pay up ``soon.''

``What we want for this ship is only $25 million because we always charge according to the quality of the ship and the value of the product,'' a man who identified himself as Abdi Salan, a member of the hijacking gang, said in a telephone interview yesterday from Harardhare. [DEALMAKER TRANSLATION: ‘Think of us next time for all your pirating needs.’] The town is in Somalia's semi- autonomous northern Puntland region close to where the ship is anchored. The man didn't give a deadline or say what would happen if the money isn't paid.

The Sirius Star, which belongs to Saudi Arabia's state-owned shipping line, Vela International Marine Ltd, was seized along with its crew of 25 on Nov. 15, about 420 nautical miles (833 kilometers) off Somalia. That sort of boat costs about $148 million new, and the Sirius Star was carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude valued at about $110 million.

The hijacking, from boarding to the pirates' taking control, took just 16 minutes, Agence France-Presse said yesterday, citing U.K. reports. The military reports said the tanker was too large and too laden to outmaneuver pirate speedboats, and was poorly defended, according to AFP.

The ransom may be the highest sum demanded by pirates from war-torn Somalia, which hasn't had an effective government since the 1991 fall of the Siad Barre regime. They have asked for an average of $1 million per ship this year, according to the London-based research organization Chatham House.

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