Chinese navy plays Good Samaritan to RP vessel

(Updated April 28) MANILA, Philippines - A Chinese navy ship has come to the aid of the stranded Philippine-manned MT Stolt Strength and is now escorting it to safer waters. The Chinese Embassy in Manila said the navy frigate Huangshan has provided the 32.400-ton chemical tanker with food and medical supplies on Sunday (April 25) after being recently freed by Somali pirates. "One of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessels on escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia , arrived in the waters near Hobiya where it joined Mt. Stolt Strength," the embassy said. The ship was seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden last November and released with its 23 all-Filipino crew on April 20, reportedly after the ship owner paid an undisclosed ransom. [See: US, Germany, China aid stranded Philippine ship] According to the embassy's statement on Tuesday, the chemical tanker is now at a safe point adjacent to the territorial waters of Oman. It also reported that the tanker's next port is in Salalah, Oman. "At high noon on 25 April, Frigate Huangshan joined up with the needy tanker and provided the latter with emergency supplies of food, drinking water and medicine. The escort began at 7:30 pm Manila time. After a 48-hour-long voyage, the tanker was guarded to a rendezvous point at 100 nautical miles (nm) north of Yemen’s Scotra Island at 5:00 pm Manila time on 27 April," the embassy relayed in a statement. "The Chinese side wishes to see MT Stolt Strength return home safe and sound," it added. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday confirmed the delay, citing lack of fuel, but gave assurance that the seafarers were in safe hands. The DFA issued the statement amid rumors that Stolt Strength was recaptured by pirates off African waters. "In accordance with the related resolutions of the UN Security Council, the Chinese Government dispatched its navy vessels on escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia starting from 26 December 2008," the Chinese embassy added. The Philippines is the world’s leading supplier of crew, with over 350,000 sailors manning oil tankers, luxury liners and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to piracy attacks. [See: Pirates of the Somalian waters: Curse of the Filipino seafarers] Despite the risks, private companies still see the seas surrounding the Horn of Africa as a cost-effective means for moving goods with as many as 20,000 ships traveling these waters annually. At present, 81 Filipino seafarers (76 as of GMANews.TV’s count) remain in the hands of pirates. [See: Number of Pinoys held in Somalia yo-yos to 81 as pirates capture, release ships] - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV