Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Filipino seafarers were crew members aboard the MV Izumi, a Panamanian-flagged merchant vessel owned by Japanese shipping company NYK-Hinode Line Ltd., that was traveling to Japan from Mombasa when their vessel was hijacked.
The EU naval force in the region immediately dispatched a Danish and French warship to track the MV Izumi after receiving a distress call from the hijacked vessel.
To date, there are 101 Filipino seamen on board 7 vessels being held captive by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the foreign ministry said.
Japan assured the Philippine government that it will help secure Filipino seafarers against pirates in the Gulf of Aden through the dispatch of vessels and maritime patrol aircrafts. Filipinos account for 70 percent or 30,000 seafarers manning Japanese vessels.
The Philippines is the world's leading supplier of ship crew with over 350,000 sailors, or about a fifth of the world's seafarers, manning oil tankers, luxury liners, and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to piracy attacks.
As a policy, the Philippine government does not negotiate nor pay ransom to kidnappers, but gives ship owners the free hand in negotiating for the release of abducted Filipino sailors.
Source: Xinhua