**The family of a British couple feared kidnapped by Somali pirates have been warned a ransom would have to be paid for their safe return.**Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, of Kent, sent a distress signal on Friday from the Indian Ocean.
The yacht was later spotted by the European Union Naval Force Somalia.
Hostage negotiator Dr James Alvarez said it was unlikely the couple would be harmed but their kidnappers would expect to get money for them.
The Somali government - which only has nominal authority in large parts of the country - said it was doing everything possible to locate them.
Dr Alvarez said: “The bad news is [the family] will have to pay a ransom.”
“Many of these pirates were once profitable fisherman and would be so again given the chance”
Omar Ali Sharmarke, Somali prime minister
He said being white, it will be assumed the Chandlers, from Tunbridge Wells, are rich.
“These guys don’t understand about mortgages and having to pay rent and, of course, comparatively, the hostages will be wealthy from their point of view,” Dr Alvarez added.
Mr and Mrs Chandler were heading on a 150 nautical-mile passage south-west to the Amirante Islands, en route to Tanzania, in their yacht the Lynn Rival when they used the distress beacon.
A spokesman said their warships were in "close vicinity’ and radar range but were keeping their distance.
‘Survival measure’
The BBC’s security correspondent, Frank Gardner, said there was no doubt the yacht was the one belonging to Mr and Mrs Chandler.
“They are being well treated, fed and looked after,” he said.
Somali pirates have warned Britain not to try to rescue the couple.
Earlier in the day the prime minister of Somalia’s transitional government, Omar Ali Sharmarke, said he had discussed the case with the UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband and met the couple’s family.
In a speech later at Chatham House, London, Mr Sharmarke said piracy was widely regarded as simply a criminal activity.
But he said: "It is rarely seen for what it really is - a desperate survival measure and in many coastal communities the only job available and the only viable means of income.
Couple ‘not rich’
"Many of these pirates were once profitable fisherman and would be so again given the chance.
“I do not condone it, I want it to stop, but I reflect on how humanely they treat the crews caught in the middle, and that 30% of each ransom is used to support the local community.”
The couple’s family have expressed hope the pair are safe, but stressed they do not have a lot of money, having sunk it all in their boat.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it still could not confirm whether pirates were involved.
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