ALGIERS - The owner of International Bulk Carriers (IBC) said Tuesday he had no contact with the crew of a ship flying the Algerian flag captured Saturday by pirates in the Indian Ocean, according to news agency APS.
"We have no news of the bulk carrier and its crew," said a source in IBC, a Saudi-dominated joint venture of Algerian law, specializing in cargo homogeneous shipping.
The bulk carrier "MV BLIDA" with 27 crew members, including 17 of Algerian nationality, was attacked by pirates on Saturday in the Indian Ocean while en route to the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
The owner said he had received on Tuesday the families of 17 Algerian sailors.
The Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the act of piracy "was not claimed," stating that he was following the developments of this case.
The ship's captain and five crew members are Ukrainian nationals. The other 4 members are from the Philippines, Jordan and Indonesia, the ministry said.
The boat was 150 miles southeast of the port of Salalah (Oman) and was heading to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania when it was attacked, had indicated on his side Atalanta European naval force in Brussels.