20 seamen held hostage off Kenya

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty Filipino seamen were abducted by Somali pirates when their ship was hijacked on Sunday off the coastal city of Mombasa in Kenya, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

The latest abduction brought the number of abducted Filipino seamen to 101 on board seven vessels being held captive by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

The Filipino seafarers were crewmembers aboard the M/V Izumi, a Panamanian-flagged merchant vessel owned by Japanese shipping company NYK-Hinode Line Ltd., that was traveling to Japan from Mombasa.

The European Union naval force in the region immediately dispatched a Danish and French warship to track the M/V Izumi after receiving a distress call from the hijacked vessel.

The DFA is coordinating with the local manning agency of the vessel on the efforts to secure the safe and early release of the seafarers.

The Philippine embassies in Nairobi and Manama were also instructed by the DFA to monitor the situation and coordinate with the Combined Task Force based in Manama, as well as the Philippine embassy in Tokyo to keep track of the negotiations being undertaken by the vessel’s principal, Fair Field Shipping Corp.