On the government-run radio dzRB, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said, “We expect the seamen’s employers to extend assistance to them.”
Lacierda said the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is continually updating them about the situation of the seafarers but so far, nothing has changed.
Earlier this week, Somali pirates seized the “MV Free Goddess,” a Greek-owned and Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, with 21 Filipino crewmembers aboard.
The MV Free Goddess was seized while it was heading from Singapore to Egypt, according to a report of the news site Somalia Report.
Citing pirates and diplomatic sources, the site Somalia Report said the bulk carrier had 21 Filipino crew members when it was seized in the Arabian Sea at 1438 UTC on Tuesday, or 10:38 p.m. Manila time.
At the time, the ship was carrying a cargo of steel cable, the report said.
Other piracy victims
In an interview early last month, DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said there were some 26 Filipinos on three captive vessels. The 21 just captured balloons the total to 47 in the hands of pirates.
Reports show that one of the latest incidents involving Filipino seafarers happened in early November last year, when Somali pirates seized a Greek-owned chemical tanker with 21 Filipinos on board.
A day after that, Somali pirates released an Algerian-owned ship with two Filipino crew members, after the ship owners paid $2 million in ransom. — LBG/VVP, GMA News
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