An officer of a Cosco Shipping ultramax died this weekend in Turkey.

But Chinese sources believe the report that the ship's master died of coronavirus are false, and that the stricken crew member died of malaria contracted in Guinea.

According to local sources, health officials at the port of Istanbul reported that the master of the 63,300-dwt Feng De Hai (built 2015) passed away while the ship was at the Bosphorus anchorage.