Monday, February 09, 2009
It brought the number of Filipino seafarers still being held by pirates in Somalia down to 53.
The released sailors were kidnapped in the Gulf of Aden on Nov.14, 2008, when heavily-armed Somali pirates hijacked their Chinese-operated fishing boat Tianyu No. 8 as it sailed through the dangerous waters.
Bayani Mangibin, spokesman of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, said the sailors were freed Sunday and were "all in good condition."
He said the Filipino sailors will undergo medical check-ups and debriefing before they can be repatriated to the Philippines.
Mangibin did not say if ransom was paid to secure the seafarers' freedom. The government does not pay ransom and negotiate directly with kidnappers as a policy.
However, media reports say that owners of hijacked ships have paid huge amounts to secure the release of their crew, including dozens of Filipinos, from the custody of Somali pirates.
Mangibin said the Philippine government is continuing to work for the immediate release of the other remaining Filipino seafarers. They are crewmembers of three ships that are still in the custody of the pirates in Somalia, namely, the MT Stolt Strength (hijacked on Nov. 11), the MV Chemstar Venus (hijacked on Nov. 16) and the MV Longchamp (hijacked Jan. 29).
The Philippines supplies a third of all of the world's sailors.The 350,000 Filipino sailors operate major oil tankers, luxury liners and passenger vessels all over the world and expose themselves to pirate attacks in dangerous regions.
Manila has been in a dilemma on how to provide protection for the sailors.
It says banning Filipinos from certain risky regions would be difficult because
of the rapid mobility of the sailors and its lack of ability to monitor their
movement.
SOURCE: Xinhua, Monday, February 09, 2009