The families of two British crewmen being held hostage by pirates on a hijacked oil tanker said that they hope the pair "will be home safely very soon".
Peter French, from County Durham, and James Grady, from Strathclyde, are on the Sirius Star, which is currently anchored off the coast of Somalia.
A statement said the families of the two men "greatly appreciate the concern that has been expressed
by people throughout the UK and beyond, about Peter and James.
"They hope that Peter and James will be home safely to their families very soon."
The men are the tanker's chief engineer and its Second Officer, although the Foreign Office could not confirm which man held which role.
Mark Dolan, a former sea captain and colleague of Mr French, told the BBC the captured man is the ship's chief engineer.
He said: "He is an excellent chief engineer.
"I think he will be most angry and frustrated and itching to have a go back. I'm hoping that he will bide his time and not do anything silly."
The Sirius Star was attacked at the weekend and the pirates who have taken control of the vessel have taken it to a stronghold near the town of Eyl.
The Saudi-owned ship was fully laden with two million barrels of oil when pirates boarded it and is the largest vessel ever to be hijacked in a region which has become notorious for piracy.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the problem of piracy was "a grave danger to the stability in the region".
Speaking to the BBC as he arrived in Beirut for talks with the Lebanese government, he said: "The United Kingdom is very worried about the piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in Somalia.
"We call on those holding the (Britons) to release them and the rest of the crew immediately."
He said the Royal Navy was involved in efforts to resolve the situation.
"The Royal Navy is co-ordinating the European response as well as contributing to the international mission there.
"Obviously, the problem of piracy around Somalia is a grave danger to the stability in the region."
The vessel's operator, Dubai-based Vela International Marine Ltd, said the 25 crew on board – two Britons, two Poles, one Croatian, one Saudi national and 19 Filipinos – were believed to be safe.
A statement from the president of Vela International Marine Ltd, Salah Kaaki, said: "Our first and foremost priority is ensuring the safety of the crew.
"We are in communication with their families and are working towards their safe and speedy return.
"Vela continues to monitor the situation and co-ordinate with the relevant embassies at this time. Vela is awaiting further contact from the pirates in control of the vessel.
"In view of the sensitive nature of this matter and in the interests of the safety of the crew on board, Vela will make no further public comments on this incident until further notice."
The large oil tanker is owned by Saudi oil company Aramco but was sailing under a Liberian flag.
It is 1,080ft (330m) long and can carry about two million barrels of oil.
The hijack has raised fears that international patrols nearer the coast and in the Gulf of Aden will not be enough to protect vital trade routes as pirate gangs become ever more audacious.
Earlier, it was reported that pirates had hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew members and an Iranian cargo ship off the coast of Somalia.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union, which represents seafarers, urged the Government to push for expansion of patrolling and escorts to help counter the threat of piracy.
General secretary Bob Crow said: "The growth of piracy is a threat faced by the shipping industry on a global scale and it requires a global response.
"The most important immediate task is to get the Sirius Star, and the many other vessels already being held by pirates, released with their crews unharmed.
"Like all workers, seafarers should be able to work without the fear of imminent attack, and the ordeal faced by seafarers held to ransom is unimaginable.
"The scale of the problem is now so big that the Gulf of Aden, where so many seizures have taken place, is known among mariners as the 'gates of hell'.
"One problem is that some ship owners, particularly those flying flags of convenience, will gamble with their crews' safety by taking short cuts outside the patrolled safe zone."
Cyrus Mody, manager of the International Maritime Bureau – a specialised division of the International Chamber of Commerce – said it was very difficult for security patrols to intervene once a ship had been boarded.
"Once the pirates are on a vessel, you have the risk of the crew being used as human shields or being injured in crossfire.
"There could also be damage to the ship's cargo and very often they carry a mixed cargo – some hazardous, some not – so it is a very difficult judgment call."
The renewed fears about piracy came as it was announced yesterday that eight suspected Somali pirates were handed over to the Kenyan authorities by the Royal Navy following an attempted hijacking in the Gulf of Aden last week.
The full article contains 882 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
