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MANILA, Philippines—More than three months after they were seized by Somali pirates in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, 18 Filipino seafarers of a Japanese-owned tanker returned to the country from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Monday afternoon.
Arriving aboard Emirates Airlines flight EK-332, the seamen were warmly greeted by their families who had to wait for almost an hour for their plane to touch down around 4:15 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
“I’m very happy I survived to be with my wife and our family,” an emotional Ariel Gamao told reporters as he held his wife Lolit in a tight embrace.
“I thank God for giving me a second lease on life,” Gamao said, crying.
Together with five South Korean crew members of M/T Chemstar Venus, the Filipino seamen were held captive for 97 days by Somali pirates who hijacked their ship on November 14 last year, as they were passing the seawaters off lawless Somalia.
The seamen were freed on February 13 after their agency, Pobar Marines Services Inc. (PMSI), negotiated for their release.
South Korean ships have frequently been targeted by Somali pirates.
The International Maritime Bureau says piracy on the high seas rose to unprecedented levels in 2008.
It said attacks off the east coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden had risen by nearly 200 percent to 111 in 2008, with pirates succeeding in hijacking 42 vessels and taking 815 crew hostage.
South Korea plans to send a warship to combat piracy off Somalia. The United States, several European nations, Russia, India and China have already sent naval ships to the lawless Somali coast. With Agence France-Presse
