THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT has launched negotiations to secure the release of several Filipino crew members of ships hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
In a statement, the DFA said the embassies in Singapore and Nairobi were ordered to assist in securing the safe and immediate release of the two Filipino crew of a Malaysian fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates.
Thai Union 3, with its crew of two Filipinos, two Ghanaians, and 23 Russians, was seized by pirates last Oct. 29, 200 nautical miles north of Seychelles.
The vessel’s principal, the DFA said, is based in Hong Kong.
