PARIS, April 6 (Reuters) - The French navy continued to trail a luxury yacht off the Somali coast on Sunday, two days after pirates stormed the boat and took its 30-strong crew hostage, French Defence Minister Herve Morin said.
"We are still in this phase of the pirates carrying on sailing with us following them at a distance," Morin told Europe 1 radio, adding that he expected the hijackers would eventually make land somewhere in Somalia.
"Normally, they demand a ransom as soon as they land," he said, indicating that no demands had been received so far.
Pirates stormed the French-owned yacht, the Ponant, on Friday as it was sailing through the Gulf of Aden. They then headed the boat back south towards the Somali coast.
The defence ministry says 22 of the crew were French, including 6 women. The rest were believed to be Ukrainian and Korean. The boat's owner, the Compagnie des Iles du Ponant, told anxious relatives on Sunday that their staff were well.
"The crew has not been ill-treated. They are all together and were able to have breakfast and take showers this morning," the mother of one of ship hands told France Info radio, relating what company officials had told her.
The crew had been sailing the boat from the Seychelles to the Mediterranean when they were boarded and they were not carrying any passengers at the time of the attack.
French media showed navy pictures on Sunday of the pirates sitting on the deck of the Pontant, which was towing the two motorboats they had apparently used to launch their attack.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Saturday France wanted to resolve the crisis peacefully.
"All channels of discussion are open to try to resolve this issue without using force," he said, adding. "We are putting the emphasis on protecting the life of those on board."
Kidnapping and piracy are lucrative businesses in lawless Somalia and most Somalis treat their captives well in anticipation of a good ransom.
France has 2,900 troops stationed in Djibouti, which borders
Somalia and lies on the coast. It also has a naval force in the Indian
Ocean and has diverted at least one warship to the area. (Reporting by
Sophie Louet; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Jon Boyle)
SOURCE: Reuters, April 8, 2008