Somali pirates free 17 more Pinoy seafarers

(Updated 7:15 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - A total of 17 Filipino seafarers who have been held by Somali pirates for 78 days were finally released on Monday, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday. The 19-man crew of the MV Captain Stephanos, a Greek-owned, Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier, were kidnapped by Somali pirates last September 21 as the ship was cruising in the Gulf of Aden. "All the crew members are reported to be in good health," DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal said. Cristobal identified the seafarers as Rodel Arbis of Cavite, Audy Parilla of Davao City, Miguel Sanchez of Manila, Reynaldo de la Cruz of Quezon City, Leonardo Berjame of Mandaue in Cebu; Faustino Adalia of San Pablo City in Laguna; Jeffrey Bolodo of Bohol, Cesar de la Cuadra of Iloilo, Ronnie Cabanting of Abra. Geovanne Sipalay of Bulacan, Emmanuel Torres of San Pablo City, James Bryan Fabie of Koronadal in South Cotabato, Nicolas Bation of Zamboanga del Sur, Rodrigo Parac of Leyte, and Prudencio Asuncion Jr; Alfredo Paculdar Jr; and Richard Garcia, all of Cavite. Two other foreign nationals who were also kidnapped on the ship were not named. The crew of the MV Captain Stephanos, a Greek-owned, Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier, were kidnapped by Somali pirates last September 21 as the ship was cruising in the Gulf of Aden. "All the crew members are reported to be in good health," Cristobal said on Wednesday, adding that the vessel was en route to Italy before proceeding to Greece. The DFA is also coordinating the immediate repatriation of all freed Filipinos. This latest development brings to 91 the total number of Filipino seafarers, on board six vessels, who are still being held captive by Somali pirates. A total of 17 vessels - ranging from small fishing boats to huge oil supertankers – with 208 Filipino seafarers on board have been hijacked by Somali pirates this year. As of December 10, a total of 117 had since been released reportedly after ship owners paid ransom to the pirates. The MT Centauri, which was released on November 27, had the largest number of Filipino crew on board. The Greek-owned freighter had 26 crew members from the Philippines when they were taken over by the pirates. - GMANews.TV