"Their fate is still unknown until we receive any contact from those pirates who usually wait for at least a week to start calling to demand ransom," said Mansouri, whose company owns the ship.
Somali pirates hijacked the Algerian-flagged and owned vessel carrying 27 crew in the Indian Ocean while it was en route to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from Salalah, Oman.The act of piracy was the first of its type against an Algerian ship.
"No one has grabbed credit," a statement from the Algerian Foreign Ministry read, adding that a crisis cell was formed to follow the latest developments.
Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch...
the families of kidnapped sailors came to the IBC offices to know the details of what happened to their relatives and check on their safety.
Algerian Transport Minister Amar Tou revealed on Wednesday (January 5th) that the government knows the location of the MV Blida and is tracking its movements "thanks to the 'COSS', a safety system for ships; it allows us to locate the vessel".
The authorities were unable to get in touch with the pirates or crew.
"Contact was lost at about 2:30 PM Saturday with MV Blida," said Mansouri. The vessel was chartered by a Jordanian company and was carrying clinker, a product used to make cement.
A spokesperson for the European Union's Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) counter-piracy operation said that the hijacking took place 150 nautical miles (278km) off the Omani coast. He pointed out that the ship was registered with the Maritime Security Centre (MSC), but it didn't report to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organisation (UKMTO).
Mansouri said that the 32-year-old Blida was seized by Somali pirates. He noted that the pirates have become more daring, operating further from the Somali coast where scores of other hijackings occurred. He said that it was unlikely that the captain was responsible for entering into a piracy zone, noting the location of the hijacking.
"The piracy took place at an area that is very far away from their usual place of operations," he said, adding that "each ship has a security system in similar cases", and that "an unarmed security officer launched a warning device and the signal was picked up".
The ship owner also added that the ransom the pirates demand is usually based on the cargo rather than the people, especially when it is not related to important figures. However,
The infamous
However...
he avoided answering a question on paying a ransom while Algeria strongly opposes this, saying that "these issues are now handled at the highest levels beyond the company". However,
The infamous
However...
Mansouri noted that "it's a reassuring thing that the issue is not political, but has purely financial purposes."