Stolt Strength’s Filipino crew in safe hands - DFA

MANILA, Philippines — Families of the 23 Filipino crew of the hijacked chemical tanker MT Stolt Strength will have to wait some more as their loved ones are still stranded in Somalia’s eastern coast. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday confirmed the delay, citing lack of fuel, but gave assurance that the seafarers were in safe hands. The ship was seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden last November and released with its crew on April 20, reportedly after the ship owner paid an undisclosed ransom. The DFA issued the statement amid rumors that Stolt Strength was recaptured by pirates off African waters. A German naval vessel is guarding and assisting the Philippine-flagged ship, the statement said. “Planes of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also conduct regular fly-bys on the Stolt Strength," it said. The German vessel “is in constant communication with and continuously monitoring the MT Stolt Strength," the statement added. “It rendezvoused with the newly released vessel on Wednesday, April 23, and gave provisions of food, water, and first-aid medicines to the Filipino crew. German Navy doctors checked on the health conditions of the seafarers," it further said. According to the DFA, a task force composed of Philippine diplomats in African and the Middle East is now assisting the ship’s crew members, who have been held captive by Somali pirates for slightly more than five months. The task force is facilitating the immediate bunkering of MT Stolt Strength in the western Indian Ocean, it said. “The Philippine Government is coordinating the bunkering with Sagana Shipping and Sea Cap manning agency which have engaged the services of bunkering vessels," the DFA said. “Philippine Posts in the region have formed quick reaction groups to extend coordinated assistance to MT Stolt Strength. These are The Philippine Embassies in Manama, Abu Dhabi, Nairobi, Abuja, and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai," it said. The Philippine Embassy in Manama, Bahrain is also coordinating with the Combined Maritime Task Force and the US Fifth Fleet in overseeing the safety of more than 80 other Filipino seafarers who are on board five merchant vessels hijacked in Somalia. “We are continuously coordinating with the United States, Germany, France, and other countries which have naval presence in the region, as well as the Combined Maritime Command in Bahrain, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Office in Dubai, International Maritime Organization, and the International Maritime Bureau on further assistance to the vessel and its crew," the DFA said. Vice President Noli De Castro, who is also presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers, earlier urged the Department of National Defense to assign a Filipino naval attaché to the Anti-Piracy Task Force, which is under the command of the United States Seventh Fleet in Manama, to ensure better coordination. De Castro said the attaché’s role is to report instances of piracy and monitor the condition of and coordinate help for vessels with Filipino crew passing through the Gulf of Aden. “Situations like this one could have been promptly responded to if we have a pointman in the Anti-Piracy Task Force monitoring and answering the needs of vessels with Filipino seafarers," he was quoted saying in a statement. “With a Filipino naval attaché in place we can respond, without delay, to the needs of our seafarers and ensure their safety," he said. With over 350,000 seafarers manning oil tankers, luxury liners and passenger vessels worldwide, the Philippines is the considered the most vulnerable to pirate attacks. A proposal by the DFA to ban Filipino seafarers from boarding ships that pass through the Gulf of Aden has been strongly opposed by local seafarer groups and manning agencies, who warned that Pinoy seamen could end up losing their jobs. - GMANews.TV