Algeria has denied a seafarer has died on the hijacked bulker Blida in Somalia.
Rumours of a death on the 20,600-dwt vessel (built 1978) are without foundation and all 17 men on board are doing well, the countryâs ministry of foreign affairs said.
Owner International Bulk Carrier (IBC) of Algiers is in regular contact with the pirates.
Negotiations are said to be âdifficult,â however, with Algeria refusing to pay a ransom.
Seventeen of the 27 crew are Algerian, with the others Ukrainian and Filipino.
The vessel was seized on New Yearâs Day off Oman.
It was en route from Salalah to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with a cargo of clinker when it was hijacked.
The vessel is managed by Sekur Holdings of Piraeus.
