Pirates seize undetermined number of Pinoy sailors off Benin coast in Africa By Michaela P. del Callar 09/16/2011

Pirates seize undetermined number of Pinoy sailors off Benin coast in Africa

By Michaela P. del Callar 09/16/2011

An undetermined number of Filipino sailors were among those seized by pirates on board a tanker off the Republic of Benin in Africa, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said yesterday.

Armed pirates, the IMB said, boarded the vessel at 1:21 a.m. yesterday, 62 miles southwest of Cotonou and sailed it to an unknown location. Aside from Filipinos, other nationalities reportedly on board the hijacked ship are from Spain, Peru and Ukraine.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it is still verifying the incident.

The last reported numbers of Filipino captives by Somali pirates that were released by the DFA stand at 78. These Filipino seafarers on board eight vessels were abducted in separate occasions..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110916nat1.html