Somali pirates seized 21 Filipino sailors
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Another batch of 21 Filipino sailors on board a Liberian vessel were snatched by heavily armed Somali pirates Wednesday morning.
The Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, in a report to the Home Office in Manila Wednesday, said the Panamanian-flagged, Liberian- owned bulk carrier Voc Daisy was seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, 190 miles southeast of Salalah, Oman.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said the Philippine government coordinating with the vessel's local manning agency to determine the condition of the Filipino seafarers.
The European Union Naval Force said at the time of the attack, the ship was heading west from Ruwais, United Arab Emirates making its way to the eastern rendezvous point of the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), for onward transit through the Suez Canal.
"MV Voc Daisy was able to raise the alarm before the four armed pirates, carrying three AK47s and one RPG, stormed onboard and cut their lines of communication," an EUNAVFOR statement said.
The EU NAVFOR, which is helping Philippine authorities in monitoring the situation, confirmed that all the Filipinos sailors are safe.
EU's naval force in Somalia escorts merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the World Food Program and vessels of African Union Mission for Somalia, and protects vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.
The Philippines is the world's leading supplier of ship crew with over 350,000 sailors, or about a fifth of the world's seafarers, manning oil tankers, luxury liners, and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to piracy attacks.
Since late 2008, more than 200 Filipino seamen have been abducted by pirates off Somali waters.
As a policy, the Philippine government does not negotiate nor pay ransom to kidnappers, but gives ship owners the free hand in negotiating for the release of abducted Filipino sailors.
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