Pinoy seafarers released by pirates arrive in Mombasa

The Filipino crewmembers released by pirates last week have arrived safely in Mombasa, the European Union's Naval Task Force (EU-NAVFOR) Somalia said on Tuesday. The EU-NAVFOR said the MV York and 25 crewmembers of the MV Rak Africana arrived safely in Mombasa after being released by pirates on March 9. "The MV YORK, and her crew of 17 (from Germany, Ukraine and the Philippines), was pirated on 24 October 2010 approximately 50 nautical miles East of Mombasa, Kenya. There is no information on the condition of the crews from either vessel," the EU-NAVFOR said in a bulletin on its website. The EU-NAVFOR added that the crew of the MV Rak Afrikana, which was released by pirates on March 8, were transferred to the MV YORK after being rescued by the Italian warship ITS Zeffiro when the master sent out a distress call. No other details were immediately available about the Filipino seafarers from the EU-NAVFOR, however. On March 9, marine authorities received a distress call from the MV Rak Africana stating that they were taking on large amounts of water due to what was described as a "hole in the hull," hours after the vessel had been released from pirate control. The EU-NAVFOR warship SPS Canarias was immediately sent to assist the stricken vessel and was later joined by the Italian warship ITS Zeffiro, which arrived first and carried out the rescue operation. Some 25 crewmembers abandoned the RAK Afrikana and took to the lifeboats. The crew were rescued by Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) from the Italian warship shortly afterward. The master of the vessel stated that the ship was expected to sink soon. SPS Canarias resumed her Counter-Piracy duties once the situation was resolved. RAK Afrikana AFRIKANA was pirated on April 11, 2010. There is no information on the cause of the damage that led to the distress call. "The rescued crew members are reported to be in satisfactory condition considering that they have been held captive for the last 332 days. It is not known if the RAK Afrikana is still afloat at this time," EU-NAVFOR said. – VVP, GMA News