25 Filipinos help repel pirate attack on ship

The 25 Filipino crew members of the Pacific Express, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, helped to successfully repel a pirate attack off the coast of Kenya in East Africa on September 20, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The vessel was “attacked by armed pirates some 180 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, prompting the ship’s captain to send a distress call,” the DFA said, citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi.

The call alerted an Andrea Doria-class Italian navy vessel to come to the vessel’s rescue. The pirates then abandoned the ship upon the arrival of the navy boat, the report said.

The Filipino crewmembers are all safe and well in Mombasa, the DFA said, quoting officials of the Pacific Express’ local manning agency.

Last week, the Cyprus-flagged and Norwegian-managed Mattheois 1, with 14 Filipino seafarers on board, was seized by Nigerian pirates off Togo in West Africa. The ship had 23 crewmembers of varied nationalities.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario has instructed the Philippine Embassy in Abuja to “make representations with the Nigerian authorities for the safe rescue of the Filipino seamen and the Philippine Embassy in Oslo to coordinate with the vessel’s principal in Norway to ensure that negotiations for the release of the seafarers are undertaken.”

The last piracy incident was in early July when Nigerian pirates seized 20 Filipino crewmembers of the Anema E Core. The seamen were released after four days.

Of the 104 Filipino seafarers who have been taken by pirates in West Africa since February 2006, 88 have been released, 14 are still being held captive while two are still missing.

In East Africa, a total of 32 Filipino sailors are still being held by Somalian pirates.

DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said the foreign office “continues to coordinate closely with the concerned Philippine embassies abroad, the vessels’ principals and the local manning agencies for the early and safe release of the Filipino seamen.”

He said the government has also taken up the issue of maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean with the United Nations and other international organization.

The Philippines is a member of the intergovernmental Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.