Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz said Thursday his country would not pay a ransom after pirates seized an Algerian flagged cargo ship in the
Indian Ocean last week.
Belaiz could not give details about the pirates' identity or data that would allow to take legal action against them.
The captain of the Blida bulk carrier told the Greek operator Sekur Holding Inc on Wednesday that "no crew member had been injured" during the attack and that the sailors were in "satisfactory" condition.
Attempts to launch negotiations with the pirates have yet to bear fruit.
Shipowner International Bulk Carriers (IBC) said it had received no ransom demand from the unidentified pirates.
Nasseredine Mansouri, the head of the Algerian-Saudi company, told AFP the pirates were "most probably Somalis".
Belaiz said in a statement to the press that Algeria was the first country to have "called, before the UN general assembly, for the payment of ransom to criminals and kidnappers to become a criminal act".
Paying ransom encourages criminals and finances terrorism, he said.
"Algeria does not pay ransom," he said adding that the kidnapped crew had been able to contact their families by telephone.
The Blida was seized around 150 nautical miles southeast of the Omani port of Salalah on Saturday as it was heading for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, according to the Brussels-based European Union naval task force Atalante.
Belaiz could not give details about the pirates' identity or data that would allow to take legal action against them.
The captain of the Blida bulk carrier told the Greek operator Sekur Holding Inc on Wednesday that "no crew member had been injured" during the attack and that the sailors were in "satisfactory" condition.
Attempts to launch negotiations with the pirates have yet to bear fruit.
Shipowner International Bulk Carriers (IBC) said it had received no ransom demand from the unidentified pirates.
Nasseredine Mansouri, the head of the Algerian-Saudi company, told AFP the pirates were "most probably Somalis".
Belaiz said in a statement to the press that Algeria was the first country to have "called, before the UN general assembly, for the payment of ransom to criminals and kidnappers to become a criminal act".
Paying ransom encourages criminals and finances terrorism, he said.
"Algeria does not pay ransom," he said adding that the kidnapped crew had been able to contact their families by telephone.
The Blida was seized around 150 nautical miles southeast of the Omani port of Salalah on Saturday as it was heading for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, according to the Brussels-based European Union naval task force Atalante.