Saudi Arabia's oil export shipping continued as normal after the hijacking on Sunday of a supertanker, the shipping arm of state oil company Saudi Aramco said on Tuesday.

"There is no suspension of shipping operations," a spokesman for Dubai-based Saudi oil shipping firm Vela International told Reuters.

"Operations globally are continuing as per normal. This is an unfortunate incident, and this region is very sensitive."

Somali pirates captured a fully-laden vessel owned by Saudi Aramco at the weekend. The Sirius Star held as much as two million barrels of oil, more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia's around seven million barrels per day of daily oil exports. - Reuters