Somali pirates who have been holding an Egyptian merchant ship since early August have demanded a $4 million ransom for the ship's release, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Sunday.

The MV Suez cargo ship transporting a large batch of cement was seized by pirates in the Red Sea on August 2. The pirates took the vessel to a deserted place on the northern coast of Somalia. There are 23 sailors aboard the vessel, including 11 Egyptians, and also nationals of India, Sri-Lanka and Pakistan.

Negotiations with the pirates are being held by the ship's operator, the Egyptian company Red Sea Navigation Co., through intermediaries, the paper said.

According to the paper, the company is refusing pay such a big sum, saying it is excessive, and is requiring from the pirates to bring it down to several hundred thousand U.S. dollars.

According to the ship's operator, the vessel's market value does not exceed $3 million. Intermediaries, however, said that the negotiations started with the ransom sum of $20 million, the paper said.

Red Sea Navigation Co. already has the experience of paying a ransom for the release of its vessel. In 2008, it managed to bring down the ransom sum from $10 million to $600,000, the paper said.

Somali pirates have been active off Somalia as the country has had no functioning central government for two decades.

CAIRO, August 22 (RIA Novosti)