Pirates demand ransom for kidnapped Thai captain, crew

Pirates have kidnapped a Thai captain and crewman from a tanker in the busy Malacca Strait.

The head of the Piracy Reporting Centre of the London-based International Maritime Bureau, Noel Choong, says the pirates have already demanded a ransom.

Mr Choong says the band of between five and eight pirates approached on a fast boat and fired warning shots to stop the Thai-flagged vessel as it sailed off Pangkor island, on Malaysia’s west coast.