Talks on between pirates and owner of hijacked ship off Somalia

Negotiations with the Somali pirates who hijacked a Japanese chemical tanker with 23 crew, including nine Filipinos, have started, according to Vice President Noli de Castro. The opening of the communication lines between the pirates and the Golden Nori owner, Dorval Kaiun K.K. of Japan, is a “good development, “ said De Castro, also presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers. The Golden Nori was hijacked Oct. 28 off the Somali coast carrying 23 crew (nine Filipinos, two South Koreans and 12 Myanmar citizens) and loaded with a chemical shipment headed for Europe. “Ang maganda may kontak na ‘yung may-ari ng barko na Golden Nori sa mga hostage takers," the Vice President said when interviewed on dzBB radio Monday afternoon. He clarified that the Philippine government is not directly involved in the negotiations and has only been relaying on information from the ship’s owner. “Hindi natin alam ang pinag-uusapan kasi sila lang ang pwedeng makipag-negotiate dun sa mga hostage takers," De Castro said. The Japanese tanker’s captain is a Filipino, Restituto Bulinan. The other Filipino hostages are chief officer Melchor Cayabyab, 2nd officer Loreto Quiles, 3rd officer Raymundo Panaligan Jr, chief engineer Mario Ocenar, 1st engineer Adelino Amparo, 2nd engineer Virgilio Lotoc, bosun Laureano Villanueva, and chief cook Ismael Perez. Last Thursday, the pirates allowed Bulilan to phone his wife and the Japanese ship owner to inform them they were treated well. De Castro said the absence of a central government in Somalia has made the negotiations difficult. “Ang problema natin ang gobyerno ng Somalia may problema rin, mas malakas pa nga ang mga ganyan na pirata sa Somali kaya aasa lang tayo sa report na ibibigay ng may-ari ng barko," he said. After 16 years of violence and anarchy, Somalia is now led by a UN-backed transitional government battling to establish authority and challenged by an Islamic insurgency. Its coasts are virtually unpoliced. After the pirates took over the ship, the US Navy's guided missile destroyer USS Porter fired at and destroyed two pirate boats tied to the tanker. It was unclear whether the Porter, which is part of the coalition force in the area, is the ship closest to the Golden Nori. ''The new information passed on to me was that the pirates want the navy ship to stay far away from them. That was the demand,'' Tess Villanueva, wife crew foreman Laureano Villanueva, told The Associated Press last week. ''Apparently the navy ship was getting closer to them.'' ''The good news would be if they (pirates) leave the ship,'' she said. Villanueva said the information was relayed to her late Thursday by Redentor Anaya, vice president for operations of SeaCrest Maritime Management Inc., which recruited the Filipino crew for the Golden Nori. Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said he was unaware of the pirates' demand. He said the pirates may be referring to US navy ships. Anaya said the captain called the Japanese ship owner on Wednesday, the same day he called his family in the Philippines, to say they were all safe. ''The crew are OK, so far, but we don't know what the demands of the pirates are,'' Anaya told the AP. Conejos also said he knew nothing about a ransom. ''There was no information about that,'' the foreign affairs undersecretary said. Anaya said his company has had no direct contact with the crew. Conejos earlier said the Philippine government was ''doing everything'' to save the crew, but that there had been no direct contact between Manila and the pirates. ''The problem is there is no central government in control (in Somalia),'' he said. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews, with reports from AP