83 Filipinos captured by pirates

Because of the latest incident of hijacking in the Red Sea, it had reached eighty-three (83) Filipino crewmembers who were captured today by Somali pirates.


The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) knew the identified eighteen (18) Filipino crews who were included in a chemical tanker hijacking.

A Filipinio naval liason officer who was designated in Manama, Bahrain directly communicated to the shipping line MT Motivator.

Before this, the EU anti-piracy task force confirmed that the MT Motivator was attacked by pirates and showered bullets in the north portion of Bab-Al-Mandeb area.

"After notification of this attack, attempts were made to make contact with the Motivator but to no avail. The hijack was confirmed early on 5 July," EU NAVFOR said.

The ship was loaded with almost 13,065 tons of lubricating oil.  Today, the authorities are making steps to ensure the safety of the crew.