MANILA, April 17 -Somali pirates have freed 17 Filipino seamen on a Greek vessel Wednesday after almost a month in captivity, China's Xinhua news agency quoted a Philippine government official as saying on Friday.The release of the sailors, seized on March 19 on MV Titan after sailing through the dangerous waters of Gulf of Aden, brought down to 105 the total number of Filipino seafarers being held by Somali gunmen.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos did not say if ransom was paid to secure the Filipinos' freedom. It was reported in the past that shipowners paid huge amounts to ransom for their crew and hijacked vessels in Somalia as Philippine officials insist that, as a policy, the government does neither negotiate directly with nor pay ransom to the kidnappers.Since 2006, a total of 227 Filipino seamen who were abducted in Somalia have been released without any intervention from the Philippine government, Conejos said.
"We coordinate the actions of foreign governments, the local manning agencies in the Philippines and the latter's foreign principals in our collective efforts towards the early and safe release of the Filipino crew," said the official.
The Philippines is the world's leading supplier of crew, with over 350,000 sailors manning oil tankers, luxury liners and passenger vessels worldwide.
Courtesy: BERNAMA
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