Clerics aid Filipino seaman shot by pirates off Nigeria
Edwin Acasio receiving visitors in the hospital. MISSION TO SEAFARERS
SAN FRANCISCO – An organization that helps seafarers came to the aid of a Filipino who was seriously injured by gunfire when pirates attacked his tanker near Nigeria.
The Mission to Seafarers Manila helped 2nd Mate Edwin Acasio and his wife and two daughters by arranging his care and transfer from Benin to a hospital in Manila.
The crew of the MT Leon Diaz were transiting the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Nigeria when they were boarded and held hostage. In the attack Edwin was shot and seriously injured.
After reaching hospital in the Port of Cotonou Benin, he was treated in intensive care for stomach and hand injuries.
Back in Manila, Acasio’s family turned to their local church for help. Fr. David O. Hinay, of the Philippine Independent Church (IFI), immediately contacted the Mission to Seafarers. The IFI is working in partnership with The Mission to Seafarers, to provide help and advice to crews and their families, according to a Mission report.
The Mission talked to the ship agents and established where Acasio would be taken care of. They then arranged for him to be flown home from Benin. Fr. David kept in contact with the Mission team, and Acasio’s employers and holding prayers with the family. Acasio is steadily recovering
“This partnership with the IFI in Manila is already proving to be crucial to ensure that the welfare needs of seafarers and their families are met all over the world. This is a tragic case and highlights the fact that there is a very real and present danger of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which the Mission continues to monitor,” stated the Rev. Canon Stephen Miller, regional director for the Mission in East Asia. He also thanked Fr. David for his role in expediting support for Acasio and his family.
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