DFA: Ship with Pinoy seafarers repels piracy attack

A Cyprus-flagged container vessel with 25 Filipino seafarers managed to repel a piracy attack last September 20, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. Citing a belated report, the DFA said armed pirates tried but failed to board the MV Pacific Express some 180 nautical miles east-southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. "The pirates abandoned the vessel and its 26 [crew] upon the arrival of the navy vessel. However, the pirates set fire to the vessel and burned items including the crew's belongings before leaving the ship," it said in a news release posted on its website. The DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs has instructed the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi to provide consular assistance to the crew, since their passports and seamen's books were among the burned items. It said the Philippine Embassies in Manama and Athens have also been informed of the incident. According to the DFA, the pirates were repelled after the vessel's captain sent a distress call, which alerted the navy vessel Andreadoria to come to their rescue. On the other hand, the DFA quoted the vessel's local manning agency as saying the seafarers are all safe and well, and are in Mombasa. "The agency has also informed the seafarers' families about the incident and the condition of their loved ones," it said. To date, at least 32 Filipino seafarers aboard five vessels are held captive by pirates at the Gulf of Aden. But the DFA said the Philippine government has undertaken measures to minimize the exposure of Filipino seafarers to piracy attacks. Measures include 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. Also, the government has 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. The Philippines is a member of the intergovernmental Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS). — RSJ, GMA News