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MANILA -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday that five Filipino seamen were among the 41-man crew of the Malaysian chemical tanker that was hijacked by pirates n the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen last August 29.
The DFA was able to confirm the presence of the yet unnamed Filipino workers on the MT Bunga Melati 5 through reports from the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi and the local manning agency that hired the seamen, said DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos, Jr.
"The DFA is now coordinating with concerned Philippine embassies, ship owners, and other authorities to secure the crewmen's safe release," Conejos said in a statement.
The MT Bunga Melati 5 was the second Malaysian tanker to be seized by pirates in the notorious gulf in a week.
The Associated Press had reported that on August 19, sea bandits seized the palm oil tanker Bunga Melati Dua in Somalia where a Filipino seafarer was reportedly killed.
The DFA has yet to confirm the reported death.
At an inter-agency meeting last August 28 in light of the hijacking in Somalia, a neighboring country of Yemen, Conejos proposed that a deployment ban be imposed on both land- and sea-based Filipino workers in Somalia.
Conejos also suggested that Filipino crews should be restricted by their contracts to safe sea lanes identified and certified by the Coalition of Naval Forces operating in the area.
The meeting, chaired by Labor Secretary Marianito Roque, was attended by officials and representatives from the DFA, DOLE, Office of the Vice President, and the four manning agencies of shipping vessels with Filipino crew hijacked in Somalia.
