21 Pinoy seamen freed; VP accepts job of OFW adviser 10/19/2010

21 Pinoy seamen freed; VP accepts job of OFW adviser

10/19/2010
Twenty-one Filipino seafarers of a Liberian bulk carrier vessel were released Sunday by their Somali hostage-takers after almost six months in captivity, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The vessel, MV Voc Daisy, was hijacked by ransom-seeking Somali pirates last April 21, 190 nautical miles off the coast of Salalah, Oman.

In a statement, the DFA said the Filipino crewmen are in “good health.”

The department declined to say if ransom was paid to secure the release of the sailors.

The DFA said it is coordinating with the Filipinos’ manning agency and the vessel owner to arrange for the immediate repatriation of the seafarers to the Philippines.

To date, 80 more Filipino seamen on board six vessels are still held captives by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden: one aboard the MV Iceberg 1, 19 on the MV Samho Dream, 19 aboard the MV Eleni P, three aboard the FV Tai Yuan, 18 on the MT Motivator and 20 aboard the MV Izumi..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20101019hed6.html