MOGADISHU, Sept 30: The standoff in the Indian Ocean over a ship laden with tanks and weapons entered a sixth day on Tuesday, with pirates claiming they were celebrating Eidul Fitr despite being surrounded by American warships and helicopters.

No solution to their $20 million ransom demand for the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina was yet in sight.

“We are happy on the ship and we are celebrating Eid,” pirate spokesman Sugule Ali told The Associated Press by satellite phone. “Nothing has changed.”

Ali did not say whether the ship’s 21-member crew, which includes Ukrainians, Russians and a Latvian, would be included in the Eid celebrations. One crew member has died, of an apparent heart attack.

There were unconfirmed reports on Tuesday of shootings on the ship. Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Program said there was a report that three Somali pirates were killed on Monday night in a dispute over whether to surrender, but he said he had not spoken to any witnesses.

Pirate spokesman Sugule Ali denied the claim on Tuesday, telling AP, “We didn’t dispute over a single thing, let alone have a shootout.”

There was no way to independently verify either account.—AP