Pirates release cargo ship Filitsa with 19 Filipino crewmen

Feb 2nd, 2010 | By staff | Category: Other Stories
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Somali pirate with Filitsa in the background

Nearly three months after it was hijacked, the Greek-owned cargo ship Filitsa, with 19 Filipino and three Greek seamen on board, was released by Somali pirates in the afternoon of 1 February, its manager  Order Shipping Co. Ltd.  reported  to the labor  office of the Phileppine embassy in Athens.

The ship headed for Mombasa, Kenya where the crew will disembark.

The bulk carrier, with a Marshall Islands flag,  was hijacked by Somali pirates on November 11, 2009,  513 nautical miles northeast of Seychelles. The ship was enroute to Durban, South Africa  from Kuwait.  The Filipino crewmen were recruited by Bright Maritime Co., a Philippine manning agency.

Filitsa’s Filipino crew are as follows:

  1. Honorato Cuadrasal, 2nd Mate
  2. Raul Labitad, 3rd Mate
  3. Julio Alpaya Sangre, 2nd Engr
  4. Reuben Campos, 3rd Engr
  5. Rolan Gadian, 4thEngr
  6. Lucian Jipa, Electrician
  7. Kenneth Paul De Gracia, Bosun
  8. Edgar Halas, AB
  9. Romeo Pamplona Jr. AB

10.  Melecio D. Abellera, AB

11.  Arnold Retana, Oiler

12.  Wilfredo Abuloc, Oiler

13.  Jenifer Espia, Oiler

14.  Roy Anthony Rosell, Cook

15.  Rodante Calamba, Galley Boy

16.  Carmelo Bongay, Jr., DTrainee

17.  Rafael Flaminiano, DTrainee

18.  Ronald Nicor, C/Trainee

19.  Robert Pozon, C/Trainee

NEWS REPORT FROM BBC.COM:

Pirates in Somalia have released the Greek-owned cargo ship Filitsa and its crew of 22 after a ransom was paid, Greek officials said.

The crew of three Greek officers and 19 Filipino sailors are reported to be in good condition.

The vessel was seized off the Seychelles on 11 November as it carried chemicals to South Africa.

The ransom was paid earlier on Monday but the ship’s owner, Order Shipping, refused to say how much was paid.

A Greek coast guard statement said the Filitsa was heading for the Kenyan port of Mombasa, Associated Press reported.

The waters around Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world, despite patrols from the naval forces of the US, Nato, the European Union and China.

In recent months, pirates have begun to take ships further out to sea from the coast of Somalia.

The war-torn country has had no functioning government since 1991, allowing pirates to operate along the lawless coast, almost with impunity.

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