Seoul, April 08 (Saba) - The crew of a South Korean supertanker seized earlier this week by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean are still safe though their ship has arrived in Somali waters where the pirates are based, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday, according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).

The 300,000-ton ship, Samho Dream, carrying five South Korean and 19 Filipino crew members, is currently anchored some 4.5 miles off the coast of Somalia, the ministry said.

A South Korean navy destroyer, Chungmugong Yisunshin, had kept a short distance from the hijacked ship in an attempt to prevent the ship entering the pirate-ridden Somali waters, but the South Korea owned and operated tanker arrived there late Wednesday, according to South Korea's news agency (Yonhap).

"The pirates have told the navy unit through the ship's captain that all crew members are currently safe, but their lives will be at risk if the navy ship tried to close in on the Samho Dream," the ministry said in a press release.

The South Korean owner of the ship, Samho Shipping Co., has also made its first contact with the pirates as the hijackers demanded direct talks with the ship's owner, it said.

"The government will continue to assist (the ship's owner) to secure an early and safe release of the ship and its crew," the ministry said.

Saba