Pinoy seafarers held by Somali pirates rise to 92

MANILA, Philippines — Three more Filipino seafarers were reported kidnapped by Somali pirates on Friday, raising the number of captives being held in North African waters to 92. The latest hijacking incident came just four days after another bunch of Somali pirates seized the Philippine-flagged and operated chemical tanker MT Stolt Strength with its all-Filipino crew of 23. A report by China's official Xinhua News Agency said the three Filipinos were among a 24-member crew of a Chinese fishing boat Tianyu No. 8 seized by Somali pirates off the coast of Kenya in east Africa. The Tianyu No. 8 was seized early Friday Beijing (and Manila) time and then ordered by the pirates to sail north to the Somali port of Kismayu, Xinhua reported. The report cited an unidentified official at the Chinese Transport Ministry and a pirate leader it said had spoken to a radio station in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said it had no immediate information about the report. The boat's 24-member crew — including 15 Chinese, one Taiwanese, one Japanese, three Filipinos and four Vietnamese — were in good condition, the pirate captain said, according to the Xinhua report. It said the Transport Ministry has ordered a response to be coordinated with the foreign and agriculture ministries. A separate Xinhua report gave the name of the ship as "Tanyo 8" and quoted Andrew Mwangura, a Kenyan maritime watchdog official, as saying the pirates were armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons. Somali pirate attacks in Kenyan waters are rare, Mwangura said. Somalia, which has had no functioning government since 1991, has become a world piracy hotspot, with at least 83 attacks this year on ships off its coast and 33 ships successfully hijacked. The stepped-up attacks have prompted several countries to send navy ships to patrol the waters off Somalia. Twelve vessels — including a Ukrainian freighter loaded with tanks and weapons that was seized Sept. 25 — remain in the hands of pirates along with more than 200 crew. Gulf of Aden From July to November 10 this year, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has recorded 150 Filipino seamen on board 12 ships who were hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. Of the number, 61 have been released so far, including the body of one who was killed in an accident in August when pirates boarded the Malaysian ship M/T Melati Bunga Dua. DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal has said the department is “doing everything" to expedite the release and return of the kidnapped seamen in Somali waters. Because of the hijackings, the Department of Labor and Employment declared the Gulf of Aden as a high-risk zone and ordered ship owners to double the hazard pay of Filipino seafarers crossing these areas. Many of the attacks have come in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest waterways with about 20,000 ships sailing through each year. Likewise, Filipino seamen were given the option to disembark from the ship should they decide not to continue with the voyage because of the risks involved. Cristobal said this memorandum has been in effect for a long time and is currently being implemented by ship owners with Filipino crew members on board their vessels. However, increasingly bold Somali pirates have also been ranging farther south off the coasts of countries such as Kenya. On Thursday, pirates armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons attacked a Russian-operated freighter off the coast of Somalia, but the vessel outran its attackers. A day earlier, Russia's navy said Russian and British ships had repelled a pirate attack on a Danish freighter in the Gulf of Aden, sending up helicopters. A NATO flotilla of seven vessels is also patrolling the Gulf of Aden to help the U.S. 5th Fleet in anti-piracy patrols and to escort cargo vessels. The 5th Fleet said it has repelled about two dozen pirate attacks since Aug 22. Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said the U.S. Navy could not immediately confirm the report of the hijacked Chinese vessel. China's navy is mainly intended for coastal defense and has little experience operating away from its home ports. – - GMANews.TV, with a report by AP