Somali pirates release 20 Pinoy sailors By Michaela P. del Callar 03/01/2011 Twenty Filipino

Somali pirates release 20 Pinoy sailors

By Michaela P. del Callar 03/01/2011

Twenty Filipino crewmen of a Japanese vessel were released by their Somali captors over the weekend after more than four months in captivity, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

The MV Izumi, a Japanese-owned and Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel, was hijacked on Oct. 10, 2010 while on its way from Japan to the Kenyan Port of Mombasa.

The DFA said the Filipinos, who were released on Feb. 26, “are all safe” and now heading to Mombasa, Kenya, where they will take an onward flight to Manila.

This development brings down to 118 the total number of Filipino seafarers on board 11 vessels being held by pirates in the Gulf of Aden..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110301nat2.html