Seafarers released by pirates arrive home

Seven Filipino seafarers whose ship was hijacked and later released by Somali pirates finally arrived home, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday. The DFA said the seafarers from the recently-freed MV EMS River arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Tuesday afternoon via Gulf Air. "Upon their arrival in the port of Salalah [in Oman], the Filipino seafarers underwent a medical check-up. The local manning agency representatives brought the Filipino seafarers to their office where they were reunited with their families," the DFA said in a news release on its website Wednesday afternoon. Welcoming the Filipino seafarers were representatives from the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) led by Legal Officer Dennis Bregala. Representatives from MV EMS River's local manning agency, led by CEO for Operations Capt. Leopoldo Tenorio, were also present at the airport. Somali pirates released the German-owned cargo vessel MV EMS River on March 1, nearly three months after they hijacked it on Dec. 27 last year. The cargo vessel was hijacked some 175 nautical miles northeast of the port of Salalah. It was en route to San Nicolas, Greece from Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates at the time of the attack. The DFA said there are still 121 Filipino seafarers on board 11 vessels held captive by pirates. It said the Philippine government has undertaken measures to minimize the exposure of Filipino seafarers to pirate attacks, including making arrangements with ship principals and manning agencies for vessels to travel along a safety corridor and to adopt best management practices as deterrence to piracy attacks. The Philippine government has also taken up the issue of maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Aden and in the Indian Ocean before the United Nations and other international organizations. Last year, it dispatched armed forces liaison officer Navy Lieutenant Gaudencio Rosales to work and coordinate with the Combined Maritime Fleet on anti-piracy efforts at the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. — LBG/VVP, GMA News