Report: Somali pirates hijack ship with 8 Pinoy seafarers

At least eight more Filipino seafarers are reportedly in the hands of pirates, who struck anew off Somalia and seized a Taiwanese-flagged long-line fishing boat Friday. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited data from the owner of the fishing boat “Ching Yi Wen" that the vessel may have been seized 2 a.m., according to a report on Taipei Times Saturday. It said the 28 people on board included Chinese captain Ren Hai, nine Chinese crew members, five Vietnamese, six Indonesians and eight Filipinos. Registered in Greater Kaohsiung, the Ching Yi Wen was heading towards the Somalian coast at full speed when it lost contact with the fishing company. The Taipei Times quoted the ministry as saying the vessel was suspected to have been seized by Somalian pirates at 2 a.m. Friday near the Seychelles, about 595 nautical miles (1,800km) off the southeast coast of Mogadishu. A separate report on the Somalia Report news site quoted maritime sources that said the vessel was seized some 260 nautical miles southwest of the Seychelles. The Taipei Times report said the incident has been reported to the Piracy Reporting Center at the International Maritime Organization’s International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur. It added help has been sought from the UK Maritime Trade Organization as well as other groups. The Taiwan foreign ministry also instructed its missions in South Africa, the UK, the US, France, the EU, Malaysia, and Dubai to request that those governments help rescue the ship. — LBG, GMA News