The Egyptian company which owns a ship hijacked by Somali pirates this week denied on Saturday that it would be willing to pay a ransom for the return of the vessel and its crew dpa reported
An official with the Red Sea Navigation Company, who declined to be identified publicly, said that the company would not pay a ransom and that the matter was being handled by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo.
Pirates hijacked the Panama-flagged ship on Monday with 22 crew members on board from Egypt, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.
In a phone conversation with the German Press Agency dpa, the official denied that the company, which operated the MV Suez cargo vessel, had had dealings with the pirates.
The Foreign Ministry refused to comment on the matter.
Reports earlier in the week had indicated the company was negotiating a ransom with the hijackers.
Last year, 34 Egyptian fishermen freed themselves after being held for four months at sea by their Somali captors. The seamen used the pirates' own weapons against them, killing at least two and detaining four others