Embassy in Nigeria verifying reports 13 Pinoy seamen kidnapped off Cameroon
The Philippine Embassy in Nigeria is verifying reports that Filipino seamen were among those who were abducted of the coast of Cameroon last week.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs indicated that it was monitoring the reported kidnapping of 13 Filipino sailors.
"The Philippine Embassy in Abuja, which has jurisdiction over Cameroon, is verifying the report and has been instructed to make representations with the concerned authorities to ensure the safety and security of any Filipino national who may be held by the pirates," the statement read.
The DFA said it was in close contact with the seamen's manning agency and their next-of-kin for updates in the case.
Filipino seamen, who comprise more than 20 percent of the world’s 1.2 million sailors, are manning oil tankers, luxury liners, and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to piracy attacks.
Piracy and ransom kidnappings of Filipino sailors by pirates in the dangerous African waters have long been a problem for the Philippine government as it lacked the capacity to monitor movement of seamen at sea.
Most of the sailors kidnapped off the Cameroon coast last week were Filipinos, not Chinese as first reported, an official document seen by AFP showed.
On Friday, an official in the port of Douala told AFP that 17 crew had been abducted, including "nine Chinese civilian sailors" from one of the two ships attacked, along with Ukrainians.
The attacks took place on Thursday in Cameroonian waters off Douala, located at the apex of a gulf that has become a hotspot of seaborne crime.
The port document said instead that "nine hostages, all Filipinos," were seized from a Greek-owned ship while "eight (three Russians, four Filipinos and a Ukrainian)" were taken from a German-owned vessel. —NB, GMA News
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