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MANILA, Philippines?There are only five Filipino seafarers remaining in captivity on two vessels, the lowest number of Filipino hostages in custody of Somali pirates in recent times, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
A DFA statement on Saturday describes two seamen as crew members of the Thai Union 3 while three as working aboard the MV St. James Park.
Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said that his office has been coordinating closely with the ships? principal local manning agencies for the early and safe release of the remaining seamen.
Thai Union 3 was hijacked on October 29, 2009, in the Indian Ocean, 370 kilometers north of Seychelles. There are 23 Russians aboard, all are residents of Kaliningrad, plus two Filipinos and two Ghanaians.
St. James Park, a United Kingdom-flagged ship, was pirated on December 29, 2009 ?while transiting the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor (IRTC) through the Gulf of Aden. It has a crew of 26, among them three Filipinos,? three Russians, a Georgian), two Romanians, five Bulgarians, two Ukrainians, a Polish, six Indians, and three Turkish. There are no U.K. citizens onboard.
The International Maritime Bureau, Lloyd's Register and Ecoterra International have reported that about 20, 000 ships yearly pass through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
Coalition warships constantly patrol the IRTC shipping lanes, watching for signs of pirates and listening for warning calls from vessels concerned about any approaching boat.
All ships transiting the IRTC have been advised to follow a set of best practices issued by the International Maritime Organization. These measures are designed to inform merchant vessels of proven tactics to help prevent unauthorized boardings. Best practices include proactive lookouts, the use of deck lighting, netting, razor wire, electrical fencing, fire hoses, and surveillance and detection equipment.
The IMO said the adoption of these tactics by ships, plus evasive maneuvering, has been intended to delay the pirates in order to allow military vessels or helicopters time to successfully intervene.
Although the total number of attacks in the Gulf of Aden in 2009 remained almost the same as in 2008 (101 and 102 respectively), the percentage of successful attacks fell from 65 percent to 17 percent, the IMO said in its report.
On average, five out of every six attacks were repelled in 2009, against two out of every six in 2008.
Meanwhile, Conejos said the 17 Filipino seafarers aboard the Taiwanese-flagged FV Win Far 161, which was released from captivity off the coast of Somalia on February 11, have been set to arrive in Manila on Sunday from Kaoshung, Taiwan.
The new arrivals will be welcomed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by representatives from the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and their manning agency.
The fishing vessel was hijacked on April 6, 2009 off the coast of Seychelles by Somali pirates. It was the longest held vessel with Filipino crew.
Earlier, 18 Filipino seafarers aboard Greek-owned, Panama-flagged MV Navios Apollon were released from captivity in Somalia on February 28 (Philippine time). The ship?s owner is currently arranging the crew?s repatriation to the Philippines.
