Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Somali pirates 'cruel, brutal,' say RP sailors
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
“I CANNOT confirm or deny whether ransom was paid, but I can tell you that we paid a large amount for board and lodging.” That’s Leonito Mirande, the captain of M/T Chemstar Venus, speaking after he and his Filipino crewmen were released after three months of captivity by Somali pirates.
He said that despite the cruelty shown by their captors, no one was really hurt among them, although many suffered such traumatic experiences that they no longer want to sail again.
Mirande was among the 18 Filipino seamen who arrived on Monday from Abu Dhabi on an Emirate Airlines flight.
Edwin Oliveros, third officer, was in tears recalling how the pirates would sometimes herd them every morning and fire their AK-47 over their heads. “Napakalupit nila, masama [They are very brutal, nasty].” He will enjoy his second chance at life with a long vacation.
According to foreign affairs officials who welcomed the group at the airport, 35 Filipino seamen remain in Somalia aboard two cargo vessels.
The Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, is one of the world’s busiest waterways with some 20,000 ships passing through it each year. This is the pirates’ hunting grounds.
The attacks have become so numerous and serious that the United States, Germany, France, and other countries have sent naval warships to patrol the waters and protect merchant shipping. Although reduced somewhat, piracy still thrives in the huge area.
In 2007, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recorded 263 piracy cases and armed attacks on ships worldwide, including 43 in Indonesia, 42 in Nigeria, and 31 in Somalia. Compared to the same period in 2006, the IMB noted a 10-percent increase. The IMB reported 120 pirate attacks in African waters last year.
Filipino seafarers have the greater chance of being pirate victims because they make up one-third of the world’s merchant seamen. The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) said there were more than 300,000 of them all over the world in 2008.
Source: Business Mirror
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