2 freed RP seafarers back home Tuesday night - DFA

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipino seafarers who were freed by Somali pirates last week after 62 days in captivity are scheduled to arrive Tuesday evening, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The two Filipino seamen were among the 22-man crew of the M/T Stolt Valor, a Japan-owned and India-operated cargo ship hijacked last September 15 as it sailed off to the Gulf of Aden.

DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal said 1/E Israel Lumpas, 28, of Tacloban City and 3/E Ernesto Cuartero, 58, of Las Piñas City would be flown to Manila via CX 193 from Hong Kong around 10 p.m.

The M/T Stolt Valor was released November 16 by Somali pirates after ship owners allegedly paid ransom.

The number of abducted Filipino seafarers being held in waters off Somalia rose to 134 last week as the DFA confirmed the hijacking of three vessels with Filipino seamen on board.

This year alone, a total of 17 vessels with Filipino crewmen were hijacked by Somali pirates, data culled from records of the DFA showed.

The 17 ships had a total of 208 Filipino seamen, of which 74 have been released, including the body of a crew member of the Malaysian tanker MV Bunga Melati Dua who was killed in an accident during the hijacking.

Filipino seafarers who have been recently released had told GMANews.TV that their Somali captors had locked them up inside the hijacked vessels and were not fed well.

Somali pirates often loot the seafarers' belongings but take no interest in the ship's cargo. Engineer Nelson Ramirez, president of the Manila-based United Filipino Seafarer's group, earlier said the sea bandits profit from the million-dollar ransom money paid by the ship owners. - GMANews.TV

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