Pirates who seized a huge oil tanker off the coast of Africa have begun talks with its owners, as two more ships have been seized in the area.

The Sirius Star is thought to be carrying two million barrels of oil, worth around £68 million.

The pirates are talking to its owners to tell them what they want before they'll give it back.

Meanwhile, the man in charge of foreign matters for the British government called for the crew to be released.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband

The 25 people who were on board the ship when it was seized - including two from Britian - are thought to be safe.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "We call on those holding the Britons to release them and the rest of the crew immediately."

Piracy is quite common off the coast of Somalia, with eight ships seized in the area in the last two weeks.

Gangs often demand money - known as a ransom - for the safe release of cargo and crew.

Attack

The capture of the Sirius Star is unusual because of the size of the ship, and the fact that it was attacked so far from the coast.

An armed gang of pirates seized the Saudi Arabia-owned tanker on Saturday morning, hundreds of miles off the coast of Kenya.

The Sirius Star tanker

The area of the Indian Ocean where it was captured is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world.

International war ships patrol the waters there but even they can't stop all the pirate attacks.