Pirates free 14 Filipinos

2009-12-18 14:42

Manila - Pirates have freed 14 Filipino seafarers after more than one month in captivity off the coast of Somalia, the Philippines' Foreign Affairs Department said on Friday.

The Filipinos were among 21 crew members of the Greek cargo ship MV Delvina, which was also released by the pirates late on Thursday, the department said.

The ship was hijacked on November 5. The other crew members were seven Ukrainians.

"The Filipino crew are safe and in good health," the department said in a statement. "The vessel and its crew are now heading to Mombasa."

The release brought to 53 the number of Filipino seafarers being held by pirates aboard four vessels off the coast of Somalia. Since 2006, more than 200 Filipino seafarers have been abducted in the area.

"The Philippine government continues to step up preventive and remedial efforts to address the continued increase in the number of piracy incidents and hostage taking involving Filipino seafarers off the coast of Somalia," the department said.

The Philippines is the world's leading supplier of crew with more than 350 000 Filipino sailors manning oil tankers, luxury liners and passenger vessels worldwide.

- SAPA