(SomaliNet) Countries bordering the Red Sea pledged to cooperate at a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Thursday, where they discussed hijackings by Somali pirates. The nations blamed the frequent acts of piracy on the state of lawlessness in Somalia, which has not had a central government since 1991. Egypt says it is suffering financial losses as a result of the hijackings because an increasing number of ships no longer travel through the Suez Canal.
The Danish firm A.P. Moller-Maersk, one of the world's largest shipping lines, says it will divert some of its ships around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope in order to avoid the pirates.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian government says it is "keeping all options open" in its search for a solution to the hijackings, including diplomacy and military operations. The United States, Russia and European countries have a number of warships off the Somali coast.
Somali pirates seized the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star last weekend. The pirates, who are demanding a ransom of around 20 million euros, say the consequences will be "disastrous" if the ransom is not paid within ten days.
The Sirius Star is carrying two million barrels of oil worth nearly 80 million euros. Maritime sources say three more ships have been seized since the hijacking of the Sirius Star.