Thursday, July 24, 2008 Ship with 20 Pinoy seamen hijacked in Somalia
TWENTY Filipino seafarers including their captain are being held hostage inside a Japanese-owned bulk carrier hijacked by suspected Somalian pirates off the Gulf of Aden in Somalia last Sunday, a foreign affairs official said.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Esteban Conejos Jr. said the local manning agency where the 20 are affiliated have already been in touched with the seafarers particularly their captain who is also a Filipino.
He said the agency assured that "all the 20 Filipinos in the ship are safe and sound".
Conejos said latest report that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) got was that the Panama-flagged vessel is already drifting towards the northeast tip of Somalia.
According to him, the Philippine Embassy in Narobi in Kenya has already been instructed to coordinate all efforts on the "safe and earlier release of the crew".
He said he had already convened a meeting in his office with representatives from the shipping agency and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) where he reiterated the Philippine government's policy of no negotiations with pirates.
"I stressed to the local manning agent that it is the policy of government not to negotiate with pirates. We look towards the local manning agents and the ship owner and the host country because they have the responsibility to ensure the safety and the earliest release of the crew," he said.
Conejos added that he also directed the shipping agency to closely work with Owwa and help in the provision of "material and psychological support to the members of the family of the crew in the Philippines".
Reports said hijackers of the 52,000-ton vessel, owned by Turtel Marine Shipping that is managed by MMS Company based in Japan, have yet to make any demands. The vessel is reportedly carrying lead and nickel. (JMR/Sunnex)
