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MANILA--The Department of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday it was still checking reports that 22 Filipino seamen were arrested for oil theft in Nigeria and that 18 Filipino seamen were among the crew of a South Korean ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia.
"We have received the reports but we are still verifying them," DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal told reporters, adding that the Philippine embassies in Nigeria, Kenya and South Korea's capital, Seoul, have been instructed to prepare reports on the arrest and the hijacking.
The DFA was able to confirm on Sunday that three Filipino seamen have been among the 24 crew members of the Chinese fishing vessel Tianyu No. 8 that was hijacked Friday by Somali pirates pirates.
"All crewman were unharmed. The DFA has instructed the Philippine embassies in Beijing and Nairobi (in Kenya) to coordinate with the Chinese government, ship owners and international maritime authorities on efforts to secure the safe release of the crew and vessels," Cristobal said.
Tianyu was boarded by Somali pirates off the coast of Kenya. The pirates ordered the ship to sail north to the Somali port of Kismayu.
Meanwhile, the South Korean cargo ship, Chemstar Venus, which is owned by a Japanese shipping firm registered in Panama, was seized by pirates Saturday evening on the Gulf of Aden, an important international sealane connecting the Indian Ocean with the Red Sea.
The DFA said on Sunday it had yet to receive an official report from the South Korean foreign ministry regarding the Chemstar Venus' hijacking. The condition and safety of the crew were not immediately known and South Korean officials were quoted by the media as saying they had no information on whether the gunmen were asking for ransom for the sailors' release.
Prior to the hijacking of the Tianyu, the DFA placed the number of Filipino seafarers on the hands of pirates in Africa to 92, scattered in six vessels.
Since 2007, Somali pirates have hijacked 16 ships with Filipino crew; nine of these have since been release along with their 72 Filipino crew members.
Somalia has had no functioning central government since 1991.
The DFA is also awaiting confirmation on the Nigerian military's announcement on Saturday that its navy arrested 22 Filipinos after intercepting a vessel suspected of carrying stolen crude oil in the country's oil-rice Niger Delta.
Gunboats intercepted the MT Akuada in the waters off a region in the Delta state where rebels fighting the Nigerian government earlier staged an attack on a pipeline.
The Akuada was caught conveying stolen oil weighing 12,000 tons.
