5 Pinoys freed by Somali pirates to be repatriated soon - DFA

MANILA, Philippines - The five Filipino seafarers who were freed by their Somali captors are well and will soon go back home. "They are reported to be in good health," Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Claro Cristobal on Monday told GMANews.TV in a text message. "The DFA is now coordinating with the ship owner on the repatriation of the Filipino seafarers," added Cristobal. The Filipinos were among the 41 crew members of Malaysian tanker M/V Bunga Melati 5 that was released by the pirates after the vessel was hijacked last August 25. The DFA identified the freed Filipino seamen as: Eduardo Lasprillas, Aldrin Palomo, Manuel America Jr; Rhageb Salabao, and Ulyseise Maguslog. Among the Filipinos abducted was Jason Sumagat, who died during the hijacking incident of another Malaysian ship, MT Bunga Melati. About eight ships with Filipino seafarers have been hijacked near Somali waters and the Gulf of Aden in the past three months. One of the vessels had been released earlier, along with nine Filipino crew members, apparently after ransom was paid by its owner. The five other ships with Filipino crew that are still being held by pirates are:

• MV Stella Maris, a Japanese-owned bulk carrier with a 20 all-Filipino crew, seized July 20;
• MT Bunga Melati Dua, a Malaysian chemical tanker, manned by 10 Filipinos and 29 Malaysians, seized August 19. One of the ten Filipinos died accidentally when the ship was hijacked;
• MT Irene, a Japanese-owned tanker with 16 Filipinos and four other foreign nationals, seized August 21;
• MT Stolt Valor, a Hong Kong chemical tanker with two Filipinos and 31 other nationals, seized on Sept. 15 and
• MV Centauri, a Greek-owned tanker with a 26 all-Filipino crew, seized on September 17.

The DFA and the International Maritime Bureau had earlier reported that nine Filipino crew of the BBC Trinidad, a German-owned container vessel hijacked off Somalia on August 21, were all released along with four other foreign nationals and their ship. One of the nine Filipino seafarers, Chief mate Antonio Calubiran told GMANews.TV in an earlier interview that his group were often terrorized by their abductors during their 23-day stay in Somalia. "They only fed us fish, sometimes goat meat. We had to share the small portions among ourselves," he said. Capt. Tomas Awiszut, a representative of ship owner Beluga Shipping, admitted that the company paid a ransom of about $1 million for the safe release of the ship and its crew. “For the ship owner, paying ransom was the only way," Awiszut said. - MARK JOSEPH H. UBALDE, GMANews.TV