Somali pirates free 15 more Pinoy seafarers

Hijacked last April 6 with 17 Filipinos.

MV Irene
Hijacked April 15 with 22 Filipinos.

*Data collected by GMANews.TV.MANILA, Philippines - Somali pirates have released a German cargo ship which they seized last April 25 with 15 Filipino seafarers on board, an online report said Tuesday.

The National Radio Company of Ukraine website quoted the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s press service on Tuesday as saying the pirates have released the Maltese-flagged MV Patriot, along with a Ukrainian engineer and 15 Filipino seafarers.

German ship operator Johann M.K. Blumenthal GmbH and Co. KG said in the report that “successful talks" between the owner of the German ship and the pirates led to the release of the vessel and its crew.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) could not immediately confirm the release of the Filipino seafarers. DFA spokesman Ed Malaya said they were still awaiting information from the relevant authorities.

The Ukrainian rereport said all the Patriot’s crew members were in “satisfactory health" and the ship was heading for the nearest port in Yemen on Wednesday.

MV Patriot was seized in the Gulf of Aden last April 25.

A tally based on date released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) show that 39 Filipino seafarers on board two ships remain in the hands of the Somali pirates. The two remaining vessels are the WinFar 161, hijacked last April 6 with 17 Filipinos, and MV Irene, hijacked April 15 with 22 Filipinos. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

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